The federal Minister of the Environment completed a two-day tour in Washington during which he hammered home the need for a global agreement to curb “the alarming rate” of biodiversity loss.
Steven Guilbeault met with several organizations that campaign for the environment as well as elected officials during this first official visit to the American capital as responsible for environmental issues in the Trudeau government.
In particular, he underlined the importance of the next United Nations meeting on biodiversity to be held in December in Montreal.
“Several of the people met expressed an interest in participating in this meeting,” he mentioned at a press conference on Tuesday.
These discussions were intended to strengthen the relationship between the two countries, whether for example on issues of energy, transportation electrification, conservation or endangered species, and not to put pressure on the United States. , said Mr. Guilbeault.
“It’s a visit where the objectives are how we can maintain and even improve the collaboration that we have on many of these subjects,” he explained.
The Minister also expressed optimism about the impact that a recent decision by the Supreme Court of the United States could have on the reduction of greenhouse gases. A ruling handed down at the end of June limits the powers of the Environmental Protection Agency in regulating emissions from coal-fired power plants.
According to him, the agency will be able to continue to regulate mercury emissions present in coal or polluting emissions from vehicles, for example, since the highest court prohibits it instead from taking actions outside of its powers already conferred by the law.
Mr. Guilbeault also mentions that the market contributes to making renewable energies more interesting with a “lower” production cost than conventional energies.
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