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Does Canada need a climate czar?

#6 of 12 articles from the Special Report: Later is Too Late
Catherine McKenna speaks during the annual UN climate change negotiations in Dubai. Photo via UNFCCC/Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Deed)

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Canada needs “a climate czar” to advance the country’s climate change goals, says the former federal environment and climate change minister Catherine McKenna.

“In the United States, they have that, and you need someone who is very publicly facing and able to get change,” she said at the United Nation’s annual climate change negotiations in Dubai on the weekend.

John Kerry serves as the U.S. special presidential envoy for climate. It’s a high-profile role within the U.S. State Department which oversees foreign affairs. The position regularly sees the former Democratic presidential candidate criss-crossing the globe to lead his country’s climate negotiations. But it serves another purpose, too. It’s a very visible role signalling American climate priorities.

The U.S. isn’t the only country to have this role. In Germany, Jennifer Morgan, former co-executive director of Greenpeace International, took the post of special representative for international climate policy in 2022. The United Kingdom had a special representative for climate change since 2016, but axed the position this year in what one expert called a “backwards step.”

Arguably, Catherine Stewart, Canada’s ambassador for climate change, is the closest thing, but her role is far less visible than Kerry’s. That’s because Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault also takes a lead role in pushing Canada’s priorities on the international stage, most notably at conferences like the ongoing COP28 in Dubai, or biodiversity negotiations in Montreal last year.

Canada needs “a climate czar” to advance the country’s climate change goals, says the former federal environment and climate change minister Catherine McKenna. #cdnpoli #ClimateSummit #COP28

Guilbeault isn’t sure if a special climate envoy in Canada is necessary. “We have our ambassador who is not as high-profile as John Kerry, but how many John Kerrys are there around the world?” he said.

“And Jennifer [Morgan] is certainly an incredibly dedicated and knowledgeable person ... but she certainly doesn't have the profile of John Kerry,” he added. “So I think it's easier said than done. You can say: ‘Oh, we want a John Kerry, but I don't see a lot of John Kerrys.’”

In Canada, international climate diplomacy is spread across a number of departments. For instance, Melanie Joly, minister of foreign affairs and Ahmed Hussen, minister of international development, both touch the file. But because the climate crisis affects every department, it’s important to have one person able to oversee everything, making the role of climate czar more than just a diplomatic role, McKenna says.

“There's all sorts of reasons why it's challenging for governments to deliver on commitments, so that's the person who ultimately is cracking the whip, saying we've got to get this done faster,” she said.

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