Canada proudly hosted the 4th Mission Innovation Ministerial on May 28, 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood alongside other world leaders to launch Mission Innovation (MI) at COP21 in 2015, because innovation and clean technologies are key components of the Government of Canada’s approach to promoting sustainable economic growth and will play a crucial role in Canada’s transformation into a low-carbon economy.
Five years later, Canada’s reasons for being involved in MI hold true, and its commitment remains unwavering. MI echoes Canada’s belief that climate action presents huge opportunities. Building on the momentum of the last five years, Canada strongly endorses a second, outcomes-focused phase of MI. Our collaborative efforts under MI will play a big role in a green recovery from COVID-19, spurring innovation and bringing about environmental sustainability, economic stability, good jobs, and a better, cleaner world.
Since MI’s launch, Canada has been an active member and proudly remains on track to meet its doubling target of $775-million in 2019-20. Canada has participated in all eight Innovation Challenges (ICs), and brought MI members together for the 4th Mission Innovation Ministerial on May 28, 2019, in Vancouver, British Columbia. MI-4 was an inclusive, dynamic and engaging platform that allowed members to demonstrate the impact of investments and raise collective ambition in clean energy innovation.
MI enables Canada and its international partners to find creative solutions to common challenges by sharing expertise, engaging stakeholders, and delivering new collaborative projects. As co-lead of IC4 (Sustainable Biofuels), Canada worked with other countries to advance global collaboration on sustainable biofuels, informing global innovation priorities, exchanging best practices, and promoting funding opportunities for advanced biofuels RD&D. Meanwhile, through its leadership of IC6 (Clean Energy Materials), Canada helped establish an international network on sustainable materials and accelerate the discovery and development of advanced materials for a variety of technology applications. As part of these efforts, Canada has deployed a key enabling technology (Materials Acceleration Platforms), and more recently, started construction on a new research facility to advance materials discovery and innovation.
In line with MI’s goal of bringing together public and private investments, Canada was pleased to partner with Breakthrough Energy, a coalition of global investors led by Bill Gates, working together to build high-potential clean energy companies. This partnership has seen the launch of Breakthrough Energy Solutions Canada, providing 10 Canadian firms with public seed funding and the potential for follow-on private investment. These firms are working on cutting-edge solutions that can significantly reduce GHG emissions in the buildings, transportation, industry, and electricity sectors in Canada and around the world.
Over the years, Canada has seen how participation in MI directly supports our outcomes-oriented approach to energy innovation policy and programs. As the Government of Canada seeks to exceed its 2030 emissions reduction goal and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, Canada looks forward to continued collaboration with MI members and collaborators in order to leverage resources, and enable inclusive innovation.