North American Climate, Clean Energy, and Environment Partnership Action Plan

On June 29th, 2016 at the  North American Leaders Summit in Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, President Barack Obama, and Mexico's President Enrique Peña Nieto announced the North American Climate, Energy and Environment Partnership.  
Highlights from the Partnership Action Plan were outlined in a joint statement, and below we share points that may be of interest to the clean technology sector :
Advancing Clean and Secure Energy
  • Strive to achieve a goal for North America of 50% clean power generation by 2025, including renewable, nuclear, and carbon capture and storage technologies, as well as demand reduction through energy efficiency, with actions undertaken by each country individually to achieve this regional goal being in accordance with their own conditions, specific legal frameworks and clean energy national goals. Look to provincial Ministries of Energy and Natural Resources Canada to lead on this objective.
  • Advance clean energy development and deployment (including renewable, nuclear, and carbon capture and storage technologies). Look to Natural Resources Canada to lead on this objective.
  • Greater trilateral collaboration on encouraging the greening of government initiatives and on the purchase of more efficient products, cleaner power, and clean vehicles as appropriate. Public Services and Procurement Canada and the U.S. General Services Administration announce their intention to increase the percentage of electricity they purchase from clean energy sources to 100% by 2025.  Look to Public Services and Procurement Canada to lead on this objective.
Accelerate clean energy innovation and advance cooperation on energy information
  • Leverage participation in Mission Innovation by identifying joint research and demonstration initiatives to advance clean technologies in priority areas such as: reducing methane emissions; carbon capture, utilization, and storage; electricity grids and energy storage; as well as conditioning of spaces and energy efficiency in buildings. Look to Natural Resources Canada to lead on this objective.
  • Through the North American Competitiveness Work Plan, advance a North American Clean Energy Partnership Initiative to support the development of linkages among clean energy technology companies, with a focus on SMEs, and to promote the use and export of North American clean energy and environmental technology. Look to Global Affairs Canada to lead on this objective.

Reduce black carbon (soot)
  • Strengthen initiatives to reduce black carbon in sectors such as industry and agriculture, including through technical support and information-sharing on best practices, strategies, and methodologies. Look to Environment and Climate Change Canada to lead on this objective.
  • Deploy renewable energy and efficiency alternatives to diesel, coal, or firewood in remote communities, in collaboration with international partners and organizations. Look to Natural Resources Canada to lead on this objective.

Promoting Clean and Efficient Transportation
  • Accelerating deployment of clean vehicles in government fleets; working collaboratively with industry to encourage the adoption of clean vehicles by identifying initiatives to support consumer choice; encouraging public and private infrastructure investments to establish North American refuelling corridors for clean vehicles. Look to Public Services and Procurement Canada to lead on this objective.
  • Fostering research, development, and demonstration activities for new clean technologies including for advanced vehicles. Look to Natural Resources Canada to lead on this objective.

Support implementation of the Paris Agreement
  • Recognizing the role that carbon markets can play in helping achieve climate targets while driving innovation, support robust implementation of the Paris Agreement's carbon markets-related provisions, as applicable. Look to Environment and Climate Change Canada to lead on this objective.
  • Encourage sub-national governments to share lessons learned about the design of effective carbon pricing systems and supportive policies and measures. Look to provincial Ministries of the Environment and Climate Change to lead on this.

Encourage robust action by the G-20
  • Develop low greenhouse gas emission development strategies pursuant to the Paris Agreement by 2020. Look for a greater focus on Sustainable Finance including Green Banks, Climate Finance and finance for risk underwriting of climate related innovations at the OECD and other international governance institutions.
  • Commit to improve the environmental performance of heavy-duty vehicles, including through the implementation of stringent domestic regulations on fuel efficiency and/or greenhouse gas emissions, air pollutant emissions, and low-sulfur fuels, and through green freight programs.
  • Address methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by developing and implementing national and sub-national methane reduction policies and regulations, and participating in mechanisms such as the Climate and Clean Air Coalition Oil and Gas Methane Partnership. These actions could support future steps towards adopting national emission reductions targets, where appropriate.

Promote a more secure, affordable, accessible, and clean energy future regionally and globally
  • Foster sustainable energy development and economic growth through transparent and competitive energy markets, and by reducing barriers to trade and investment in clean technologies and services.  AA:  Based on Canada's experience through the Canadian Clean Technology Industry Report, national accounts reporting of trade in clean technology (manufactured environment goods) will lead to more investment in policies to support clean technology like those in this declaration.  As Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, Céline Bak has proposed that international governance institutions such as the G20 support National Accounts Reporting of trade in clean technology.  No federal department has yet taken ownership of this proposal.  It may be relevant to Finance Canada given its responsibility for tracking trade data through Harmonized Systems codes.


The declaration contains many more references that will be of interest to the clean technology sector, and we encourage you to read it in full, here. 

The Canadian Clean Technology Innovation Partnership 

The Canadian Clean Technology Innovation Partnership (CCTIP) brings environmental industry stakeholders together to support the full participation of the Canadian clean technology industry in the climate solutions agenda domestically and internationally. 

The CCTIP recently concluded a survey of Canadian clean technology companies and stakeholders, about what they perceive are the most significant barriers for their companies.

We are pleased to share some results from that survey below.   As expected, the highest priority barriers for the short term are those often referred to, and include Project Finance, Equity and Business Development Talent. Removing barriers related to demand for innovation through competitive markets that price carbon and through market-based regulatory mechanisms are viewed as important mid-term and longer term priorities.


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