A Conversation with Minister Catherine McKenna: Climate Change and the National and Corporate Interest

CSIS Energy and National Security Program is excited to announce the launch of a new high-level speaker series, Climate Change and the National and Corporate Interest. This series will showcase a variety of country and corporate perspectives on their chosen pathways for pursuing a climate change strategy and why those actions are in their national or commercial interest.

Through discussions with leaders from both the public and private sectors, this series aims to broaden the range and depth of understanding of how each country has its own interpretation of why taking action to address climate change is in their national interest and how global corporations are positioning themselves to be competitive in a lower carbon future.

We are very pleased to launch this series with the Honorable Catherine McKenna, Canada's Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Canada has been notable in its commitment to thinking about climate change in a proactive way.  As both a major energy consumer and producer, Canada’s perspective on how to pursue a climate change policy that ensures continued economic growth and stability is an important part of the ongoing dialogue about how best to tackle this global challenge. In 2016 the Pan-Canadian Framework for Climate Change was established, a plan that includes pricing pollution and measures to achieve greenhouse gas emission reductions across all sectors, and to drive innovation and growth.

Minister McKenna was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Ottawa Centre on October 19, 2015. On November 4, 2015, she was appointed Minister of Environment and Climate Change.  Before a career in politics, Catherine co-founded and was the Executive Director of Canadian Lawyers Abroad, a charitable organization that works in developing countries and with Indigenous communities in Canada. She was the Executive Director of the Banff Forum, a leading Canadian organization that brings together young leaders to discuss how to tackle key public policy challenges facing Canada. Catherine taught at the Munk School of Global Affairs and was a board member of the Trudeau Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies. She has worked internationally as a legal adviser for the UN in East Timor and on trade issues in Indonesia. Catherine has degrees from McGill University and the London School of Economics. She is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada and the New York Bar.