Author: Sophia Thomas

In November 2021, world leaders came together in Glasgow for the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties. With the existential threat that climate change poses to communities across the globe, it’s never been more urgent to work toward goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. 

In the wake of COP26, the team at Canada 2020 convened a four-part discussion series, bringing together leaders from across sectors who are looking at our next steps on climate. You can read about each event, or listen to all four discussions, below.

Here are our top 5 take-aways:

1. To create the change necessary in fighting climate change, each of us has to start small – with conversations. Katharine Hayhoe warns us that solution aversion is the primary barrier to climate advocacy. The next time you have dinner with your climate change-denying uncle, try starting the conversation from a place of commonality: what’s happening in your shared community, pointing to visible, real-world impact, and talking about why it matters in the here and now. Loading up on scary facts and then dumping them on people in conversation just doesn’t work. 

2. Starting small works! Beginning with small changes makes each of us more attuned to the potential for larger, more systemic changes, like voting for climate advocates and supporting more sustainable companies. We can’t forget that systems are made of people, so we all have a role in catalysing systemic change.

3. Even when we’re starting small, we need to remember that climate change has big impacts. In the coming century, over a billion people will need to be re-settled around the globe because of environmental damage caused by the climate crisis. Parag Khanna has some good news: a lot of the world is already made up of mass-migration societies, including – you guessed it – North America. Canada has the opportunity to lead the world on re-settling climate migrants (for which there is no current legal definition, but the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers is trying to change that). Canada has geography on our side, migration is in our economic best interest, and we have a moral obligation to step up.

4. Migration policy is not all that Canada has the chance to become a world leader in: the shift to net zero is a whole-country transition that will take concerted policy support, and as Mark Carney reminds us, there’s still a gap between ambition and policy when it comes to keeping global warming to 1.5°C. We can close these gaps with progressive regulation, and mobilize the capital necessary to build the resilient, sustainable infrastructure we need. Leading the green transition will create jobs in Canada, make our industries (like auto, tech, and manufacturing) competitive, and give people the skills they need for the new economy.

5. All of our speakers agree: we cannot underestimate the value of our planet’s natural systems in managing the climate crisis. According to our friends at WWF-Canada, we’ve got yet another huge advantage here in Canada: a massive carbon reserve in the form of natural ecosystems from coast to coast to coast, totalling an estimated 384 billion tonnes. With 30% of atmospheric carbon coming from ecosystem destruction, this vast carbon sink must remain intact if we’re going to manage warming on this planet, let alone preserve landscape and essential biodiversity across the country.

Revisit the conversations of Canada 2020’s post-COP26 discussion series:

Reflecting on COP26: What’s next? 

Date: November 16, 2021

In the wake of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties, what does the fight for climate justice look like? In the first of our four-part post-COP26 series, former Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, and climate scientist and author Katharine Hayhoe talk about the outcomes of COP26, the future of climate advocacy, and Hayhoe’s new book, Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World.

Reflecting on COP26: The climate migration crisis

Date: November 23, 2021

In part two of Canada 2020’s post-COP26 series, Parag Khanna (Founder & Managing Partner of FutureMap, and international bestselling author of the new book MOVE: The Forces Uprooting Us), Warda Shazadi Meighen (Partner at Landings LLP and co-chair of the climate migration working group at the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers) speak with Kate Hammer (Director of Government Relations at Vancity) about the global climate migration crisis, Canada’s responsibility as a member of the international community, the demographic changes we should expect in the face of the climate emergency, and why the time to act is now.

Listen here.

Reflecting on COP26: Understanding the Net-Zero Economy

Date: December 15, 2021

In part three of our post- COP26 series, economist and UN Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance Mark Carney, and Vancity CEO Christine Bergeron talk about reframing the political and economic narrative of climate advocacy, and the challenges of moving towards a net-zero economy. What opportunities exist in the aftermath of COP26? What role must the private sector play in this transition? And what can individuals, organizations, and governments do to champion progress towards essential climate action?

Listen here.

Reflecting on COP26: Understanding Canada’s Carbon Stores

Date: December 16, 2021

In this final installment of Canada 2020’s post-COP26 conversation series, WWF-Canada’s President and CEO, Megan Leslie, and Vice-President of Science, Knowledge and Innovation, James Snider talk about Canada’s first-ever national carbon ecosystem map, the enormous amounts of carbon stored in terrestrial ecosystems throughout our country, and the essential part carbon storage can play in fighting climate change.

Listen here.

This week on No Second Chances, we’re taking a look at a country led by one of the most well-known, and respected, female leaders out there. Welcome to New Zealand. Host Kate Graham explores lush landscapes and progressive politics with American-born New Zealand politician Julie Anne Genter, and High Commissioner to Australia, Dame Annette King, in the hopes of understanding how the country has managed to elect not one, not two, but three female prime ministers.

To see modern democracy in action, look no further than Chile. This week on No Second Chances, we’ve landed in South America. Host Kate Graham talks to Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Western University, Dr. Verónica Schild, as well as former President, and current United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet about Chilean politics, the country’s progressive new government, and its roots in a strong feminist movement.

Are you passionate about progressive policy in Canada? Eager to flex your creative communications skills as part of an exciting national organization? Savvy with digital marketing, media relations, and data-informed decision-making? Apply to be Canada 2020’s Communications Lead! This part-time position is perfect for a communications freelancer anywhere in Canada who thrives as part of a nimble team working on high-profile events and initiatives.

About the role

• 5-10 hours/week (flexible hours, includes 2 short weekly check-ins with the rest of the team at a mutually convenient time)
• Minimum 6 month commitment
• Responsibilities include: Promoting Canada 2020 activities online (social media, digital advertising, email marketing), ensuring content is up-to-date across Canada 2020 social channels and website, writing and editing content, creating and executing communications plans, designing promotional graphics, supporting virtual live events, and more, depending on the unique needs of the organization on a week-to-week basis.

About you

• Interested in current events and progressive policy issues in Canada 
• A collaborative self-starter who takes initiative and isn’t afraid to innovate and propose new ideas
• Accountable and communicative

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree (in communications, public relations, marketing, journalism, or a related field preferred but not required)
• Skilled digital marketer with 2-4 years of experience
• 2-4 years of experience creating and executing communications plans
• Excellent partner relationship management
• Basic design skills (Canva)
• CMS skills (WordPress)
• Email marketing experience (Mailchimp)

Nice to haves

• Digital advertising experience
• Video editing skills
• Established media list

Apply now

Apply with a cover letter and resume to [email protected]. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.

Canada 2020 is Canada’s leading, independent, progressive think-tank. Founded in 2006, Canada 2020 has spent more than a decade hosting events, producing original research and starting conversations about Canada’s future. Our goal is to build a community of progressive ideas and people that will move and shape governments. https://canada2020.ca/

To try to make sense of the occupation of Ottawa’s downtown core on this episode of @Risk, Jodi Butts is joined by University of Toronto assistant professor, Dr. Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, whose work examines the intersections of race, crime and criminal justice, with a particular focus in the area of policing.

There is no reconciliation without economic reconciliation. So why do we tend to shy away from talking about it? Perhaps too few of us understand what economic reconciliation means, beyond mere resource development.

On this episode of Everyday Reconciliation, host Elin Miller speaks with Chief Leanne Joe, Transformative Storyteller for Economic Reconciliation with Simon Fraser University and one of sixteen hereditary chiefs of the Squamish First Nation about why economic reconciliation is hard to define, and why every Canadian should care about it.

On this episode of @ Risk, Jodi Butts is joined by Canadian Broadcasting Hall of Fame journalist, entrepreneur, and diplomat, Senator Pamela Wallin, to discuss why the media is you and why that’s maybe not a good thing.