Media Availability: Is Canada on track for climate action? Responding to a new report from the Office of the Auditor General

Tomorrow, federal and provincial auditors general are releasing a new report on progress towards climate action in Canada. 

Initial indications are that the report shows a lot of urgent work still needs to be done in every province to assess climate risk and scale up resilience measures.

Another question expected to arise from the report is the role of "climate sinks" within Canada to offset greenhouse gas emissions and potentially contribute to increased climate resilience.

Experts from the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) are available to comment on what the report’s findings may mean for national climate mitigation efforts. To speak with any of the following experts, please contact [email protected] or call (204) 958-7700 ext. 740.

Scott Vaughan, IISD’s President and CEO, has over 20 years of experience in environmental protection, environmental economics and sustainable development.

He preceded Julie Gelfand as Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development. In that role, which he held from 2008 to 2013, he was responsible for monitoring sustainable development strategies, overseeing the environmental petitions process, and conducting audits of environmental and sustainable development issues.

Anne Hammill leads the Resilience Program for IISD. Much of her work focuses on understanding how better environmental management can build resilience to climate stress and contribute to peacebuilding.

Anne’s most recent work has been in developing and applying decision-support tools for climate change adaptation, conducting participatory field research on livelihoods and climate change, and building the capacity of governments and civil society to integrate climate risk into policies and field projects.

Henry David (Hank) Venema  is a professional engineer with a diverse natural resource background spanning water resources, agriculture, energy, climate change mitigation and adaptation, rural development, ecosystem management, environmental economics and environmental finance.

He is the Director of Planning for the Prairie Climate Centre, which helps governments, businesses and community members identify and anticipate risks, take advantage of emerging opportunities, build capacity, and enhance economic and environmental resilience to climate change.

Philip Gass is a Senior Policy Advisor with IISD’s Energy Program. His recent work has focused on the development of provincial climate change strategies, the green economy in Canada and internationally, energy policy and the engagement of the private sector in international climate negotiations.

Prior to joining IISD, he spent three years (2006–2008) with the Official Opposition Caucus in the Manitoba Legislature as a substantive policy researcher specializing in the portfolios of Science, Technology, Energy and Mines (including climate change) and Manitoba Hydro.