(New York) Canada’s environment minister says the climate crisis is at the heart of discussions at the United Nations, even as the war in Ukraine continues to worry world leaders.
Posted at 12:33 p.m.
Steven Guilbeault is part of the delegation accompanying Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the summit meetings being held in New York on the sidelines of the opening of the 77e United Nations General Assembly this week.
The Minister of the Environment believes that climate issues have become a top concern for world leaders – and that the federal government is helping to move this discussion forward.
Trudeau started Wednesday with a summit meeting on building a sustainable economy around the oceans, which also included John Kerry, the former US secretary of state who is now President Joe’s climate envoy. Biden.
The day before, the Prime Minister had attended an event at the Central Park Zoo aimed at mobilizing efforts to halt biodiversity loss and protect 30% of the world’s land and oceans by 2030.
Minister Guilbeault argues that even in Europe, where threats posed by Russia are ubiquitous, efforts are being made to stop climate change. “They want to produce 25% of their electricity from rooftop solar panels by 2030. It’s amazing,” he said.
“They are investing more and more. And Canada has said we will help Europe in any way we can, while continuing our fight against climate change. »
Guilbeault also noted that President Biden, who is scheduled to speak from the General Assembly podium on Wednesday, recently initialed the largest climate change investment in U.S. history. “I don’t think climate change is on the back burner,” said the Canadian minister.
“We live in a time when, regardless of what is happening on the international scene, environmental issues like climate change and biodiversity loss have become international priorities. »
But also Ukraine, and Haiti
In addition to President Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also due to address delegations in New York, in a speech broadcast live but by videoconference – a rare exception to the rules of procedure of the United Nations General Assembly.
Because the war in Ukraine remains a major theme of the international meeting. Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said Canada wants to ensure that the global common front against Moscow remains intact.
“Obviously, what Ukraine expects from Canada is always more financial support and more heavy artillery,” she said. We have already done a lot. But we must do more. And we will do more. »
Trudeau is also expected to announce in New York Canada’s latest contribution to a UN initiative to fight treatable infectious diseases in the developing world — the Global Fund to Fight AIDS. , tuberculosis and malaria.
He is also due to attend a meeting with Caribbean partners to discuss the crisis in Haiti, where relentless waves of crime gang violence have persisted all summer, killing hundreds.
Bob Rae, Canada’s ambassador to the UN, said he recently visited the country to see the chaos for himself. Criminal organizations have even taken control of the courthouse in the capital, Port-au-Prince, he said. “We are not going to declare […] that we have a magic solution. That’s not how it works,” Mr. Rae explained.
“We must learn from some of the mistakes of the past, where interventions did not have the full support of the Haitian people. And we have to make sure that we work with the Haitian people. But that’s easier said than done in a country ruled by a caretaker government, he added. “We will try to play as constructive a role as possible. We all know it will take more. »