4. Building a sustainable and green future
Climate change is a global challenge that requires global solutions. As Canada takes historic climate action at home, it is clear that progress in tackling emissions also requires the full engagement of our Indo-Pacific partners. The Indo-Pacific produces more than half of global emissions and includes many rapidly industrializing economies that will have a significant impact on our shared environment. We need everyone to be part of the solution, and we need to make sure that the move toward a net-zero-emissions economy creates shared economic prosperity.
The same is true in the interconnected work of halting and reversing biodiversity loss, growing sustainable economies and building communities that are resilient in the face of climate change.
The Indo-Pacific is made up of coastal countries. Canada, with shoreline spanning three oceans, is committed to a “blue economy” and has much to share with partners in the region. Canada has significant expertise in underwater mapping and in monitoring oceans through advanced sensing and through real-time satellite images from space—knowledge that is valuable for preserving the health and security of our oceans and valuable for partners in the Indo-Pacific region.
Canada will work with its partners on fisheries, funding sustainable infrastructure, biodiversity protection and conservation, food security and agricultural technology, energy transitions and climate finance. Canada will also share our expertise on natural disaster resilience and recovery and promote clean technology to prevent and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Canada and the Indo-Pacific will face this challenge together.
To support the region in building a sustainable and green future, Canada will:
- expand the capacity for FinDev Canada to support high-quality, sustainable infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific and also provide alternative options to developing economies exploring infrastructure development
- support oceans management initiatives and expand measures against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the Indo-Pacific, including through our Dark Vessel Detection Program, which uses Canadian technology to find illegal fishing vessels and protect fish stocks
- establish a signature initiative in the region on disaster risk and resilience that enables Canada to share expertise and to help countries adapt to, and be ready for, the impacts of climate-induced disasters before, during and after disasters strike
- boost commercial demonstration of Canadian clean technology in priority Indo-Pacific markets and help Canada’s clean technology small and medium-sized enterprises with financial support to break into markets in the region
- build on the already allocated $1.26 billion out of the Canada Climate Finance Commitment toward the Indo-Pacific region to assist partner countries with economic recovery and infrastructure needs and catalyze inclusive and sustainable development through Canadian capital, technology and policy expertise
- prioritize the Indo-Pacific region as part of the Powering Past Coal Alliance, which is working to help partners advance their transition from unabated coal power generation to clean energy; Canada will collaborate with partners in the region to support a transition to cleaner energy
- ensure Canada’s international assistance program will target climate and environment action, with the greatest impact based on needs defined locally and related to climate change, energy transition, biodiversity and oceans management
- work with Indo-Pacific countries to prevent plastic pollution from entering the oceans and the environment, reduce plastic waste and better manage existing plastic resources, including by supporting an ambitious, legally binding global agreement to end plastic pollution that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics
- advance Canada’s Global Carbon Pricing Challenge to share expertise on carbon pollution pricing as an important tool to fight climate change and drive investment in clean technologies