Canada joins First Movers Coalition aimed at commercializing zero-carbon technologies globally

Partnership will create a strong market demand for emerging cleantech while showcasing Canada's climate leadership on the world stage

OTTAWA, ON, Jan. 18, 2023 /CNW/ - From cleaner air to well-paying jobs, clean technologies lay the foundation for a stronger, greener and more sustainable economy that creates opportunities for all Canadians. The Government of Canada is firmly committed to building partnerships to strengthen cleantech innovation and adoption at home and abroad, positioning Canada as a world leader in the emerging low-carbon economy, and meeting our emissions reduction targets of 40% below 2005 levels by 2030 and net zero by 2050.

Today, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced that Canada is joining the First Movers Coalition (FMC) as a government partner. This global initiative uses the purchasing power of businesses worldwide to decarbonize high-emitting industries.

The FMC was launched by U.S. President Biden at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland. It provides a platform for international businesses to work collectively to create a powerful market demand for cleantech solutions, sending a clear signal to industry to scale up emerging technologies needed for the shift to net-zero carbon emissions.

Canada's participation in the FMC is aligned with the government's commitment to advance the adoption of clean technologies and to forge ahead on the path to industrial decarbonization. For example, in November 2022, the government announced the release of the Roadmap to Net-Zero Carbon Concrete by 2050, a joint initiative of the Government of Canada and the Cement Association of Canada to support the cutting of carbon emissions from the cement and concrete industry. The announcement coincided with the launch of the FMC's own cement and concrete pledge at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference. The pledge committed industry members to dramatic carbon reduction measures.

The FMC represents a valuable opportunity for Canadian cleantech entrepreneurs to display their leadership on the world stage, and it will enable a wide range of Canadian businesses to access the cleantech solutions they need to achieve their net-zero goals and build the clean and profitable supply chains of the future.

Through its partnership with the FMC, the Government of Canada is affirming its promise to protect our environment, advance our vital climate objectives and progress toward a sustainable economy while creating global opportunities for Canadian cleantech companies.

Quote

"A net-zero carbon emissions world is only attainable if we bring key technologies to commercial scale. Canada's participation in the First Movers Coalition reflects our government's commitment to support industrial decarbonization, encourage the adoption of clean technologies and help Canadian entrepreneurs make their mark in the green economy."
– The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

Quick facts

• The First Movers Coalition (FMC) leverages the purchasing power of companies to decarbonize high-emitting industrial sectors—including aluminum, aviation, chemicals, concrete, shipping, steel and trucking—which account for a third of the world's carbon footprint.
• Canada joins a growing roster of FMC government partners, including Denmark, India, Italy, Japan, Norway, Germany, Singapore, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States, to help create markets for clean technologies through policy measures and private sector engagement. Over 60 multinational companies are also members of the coalition.
• Canada's 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) includes $9.1 billion in new investments and lays out a roadmap for economy-wide and sector-specific decarbonization that will help Canada achieve its emissions reduction targets.
• In the ERP, the Government of Canada commits to advancing carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technology and working to provide policy certainty to support the development and deployment of this technology. This includes a new CCUS investment tax credit, which was detailed in Budget 2022, as well as continuing efforts to increase coordination between public and private sectors to eliminate regulatory barriers and facilitate CCUS deployment.
• The government also commits to making zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) more affordable and accessible for all Canadians through a suite of investments, including $547.5 million for a purchase incentive program for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, $199.6 million to retrofit large trucks now on the road, $33.8 million for hydrogen trucking demonstration projects, and additional funding for ZEV charging and refuelling infrastructure.
• Cleantech companies contributed more than $28.2 billion to the Canadian economy in 2021, exported $9.2 billion in goods and services, and employed more than 188,000 Canadians in rewarding, well-paying jobs.
• Employees in cleantech are better paid than the average Canadian worker, and women accounted for 41% of all jobs in the cleantech sector in 2019. 

Associated links

• Government of Canada and Cement Association of Canada launch Roadmap to Net-Zero Carbon Concrete by 2050
• Fall Economic Statement 2022
• Budget 2022: A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable
• Budget 2021: A Recovery Plan for Jobs, Growth, and Resilience
• Clean technology: Canada's clean technology plan, investments and innovations for a clean growth future
• A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy: Canada's strengthened climate plan to create jobs and support people, communities and the planet
• Greening Government Strategy: A Government of Canada Directive

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SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

Laurie Bouchard, Senior Manager, Communications, Office of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, [email protected]; Media Relations, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, [email protected]