Canada-France Climate and Environment Partnership

Plain language summary

The Canada-France Climate and Environment Partnership was signed in 2018 as a 2-year agreement between the parties to support the fight against climate change by promoting and implementing the Paris Agreement. This first iteration of the Partnership was a success, and the parties agreed to renew it for 2021-22. Under the renewed Partnership, the parties commit to continuing and deepening their cooperation in several priority areas, such as promoting energy efficiency, pricing carbon emissions, addressing gender and climate issues, advocating for coal phase-out, collaborating on green finance, and promoting the development of clean technology. 

Objective

The objective of this Partnership is to promote and support the implementation of the Paris Agreement at home and abroad. 

Key elements

Canada and France commit to cooperation actions for 2021-22 that include:

• Promoting the adoption of ambitious carbon neutrality targets in support of the Paris agreement.
• Advocating for the adoption of an ambitious and operational framework to limit biodiversity loss.
• Supporting the organization of a capacity-building workshop for women climate negotiators.
• Advocating for coal phase-out globally.
• Supporting efforts to address marine litter and plastic pollution more broadly.
• Developing trade, investment and industrial co-operation in clean technology.
• Promoting energy efficiency in buildings.
• Sharing expertise on carbon pricing.
• Exchanging and collaborating on green finance priorities.

Expected results

Through the cooperation actions listed above, Canada and France expect to support domestic and international action to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Canada’s involvement

This partnership is important to Canada because it supports our commitment to the Paris Agreement and to taking action in support of the climate and the environment. In addition, the partnership increases Canada’s cooperation with France, an important ally on environment and climate change.

Canada is implementing this agreement by cooperating with France both bilaterally and within multilateral fora, engaging with counterparts in France to share information and increase dialogue, in order to achieve mutual objectives on climate change and the environment.  

Results / progress

Activities

The 2018 edition of the Canada-France Partnership led to the implementation of several successful joint initiatives. These include a seminar on carbon pricing with France for European and Canadian stakeholders in May 2019, a Sustainable Finance Roundtable in November 2019, and supporting the organization of two training workshops for francophone women climate negotiators from the sub-Saharan region, one in Dakar, Senegal in October 2018, and the second in Kigali, Rwanda, in October 2019.

Under the renewed Partnership for 2021-22, Canada and France have already supported the holding of a new negotiators workshop in October 2021. As in previous editions, it aimed to help participants develop the personal skills, competencies, and knowledge they need for international negotiations, decision-making, and the development of climate change policies.

Canada and France continue to implement the other commitments in the renewed  Partnership.