Minister Carr Promotes Canada’s Energy Sector at the International Energy Agency Ministerial

Canada continues to garner international respect as a trusted global leader, committed to clean energy, gender equality, innovation and energy security. Building on these strengths, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Jim Carr, held productive discussions with international counterparts in Paris over the past two days at the International Energy Agency (IEA) Ministerial meeting. 

While in Paris, the Minister reinforced Canada’s commitment to promoting women’s leadership and participation in the global transition to a low-carbon economy, announcing a pledge of C$1million over four years to the IEA Clean Energy Transitions Programme. The initiative will help improve the lives of the most vulnerable populations, increasing access to clean and modern energy sources for women in developing countries so they are empowered to enrich their quality of life and that of their families. Minister Carr also confirmed a C$50,000 contribution, matching the U.S. and Sweden, to support the Clean Energy, Education and Empowerment (C3E) Programme activities, which share the goal of ensuring that women play their full role in clean energy. Canada and Sweden co-lead this initiative.

During his meetings and interventions at the Ministerial, Minister Carr built on the momentum of last month’s cutting-edge Generation Energy forum in Winnipeg, where the public, top experts, industry representatives, traditional and emerging energy sectors, and Indigenous and community leaders from across Canada and around the globe discussed their vision for Canada’s low-carbon energy needed for future generations. As well, he participated in various dialogues to promote new, clean technologies that enable economic growth and environmental protection and highlighted Canada's important role as a global energy supplier‎. He also discussed conventional energy sources, lowering their footprint and their role in the energy transition. 

Minister Carr concluded his successful trip to Paris by announcing that Canada will host the 10^th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) and the 4^th Mission Innovation (MI) Ministerial in Vancouver in May 2019. CEM and MI bring together energy ministers and other high-level delegates from IEA member countries and the European Union, providing a robust stage to accelerate global clean energy innovation and uptake and an opportunity for Canada to show its leadership in the transition to clean energy.