Québec at the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

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From September 12-14, several experts as well as political and economic leaders gathered in San Francisco to attend the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS) and discuss the issues of the environment and climate change.

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Québec’ envoy Jean Lemire with the participants of the panel organized by the Québec Government. From left to right: Amy Luers, Tom Landry, Jean Lemire, Chris Holden, Sébastien Provencher and Christian Plante.

Loupe

The Consulate General of Canada in San Francisco and the Québec Government Office in Los Angeles hosted a reception that aimed to showcase innovative companied from Canada and Québec in the clean technology sector.

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Québec’s envoy for climate change and northern and Arctic affairs Jean Lemire (center) with the Consul General of Canada in San Francisco, Rana Sarkar, and Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna at the reception.

On this occasion, thousands of people from all over the world came together to discuss environmental issues, but above all to focus on solutions and actions that need to be implemented in order to achieve the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Québec was particularly active during this summit. A panel on the benefits of artificial intelligence to fight climate change was organized by the Québec Government. Jean Lemire, Québec's special envoy for climate change, northern and Arctic affairs, introduced the topic and roundtable. Lucas Joppa of Microsoft AI for Earth then explained that the algorithms and resources of a company like Microsoft can be leveraged to support conservation efforts and protect complex ecosystems, such as watersheds. A discussion followed, moderated by Amy Luers of Future Earth. The panelists were Sébastien Provencher of Element AI, Christian Plante of Hortau, Tom Landry of the Computer Research Institute of Montreal and Chris Holden, Member of the California State Assembly. The event was a success with more than 80 people attending, in addition to those following the discussion on Facebook Live.

The Québec delegation to GCAS also took part in a reception hosted by the Consulate General of Canada in San Francisco and the Québec Government Office in Los Angeles. This event aimed to showcase six innovative Canadian companies in the clean technology sector, including two Québec companies, the Lion Electric Company and GHGSat. The evening was an occasion for the Québec Government Representative in Los Angeles, Elizabeth MacKay, Mr. Lemire and the Québec companies to speak with Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, and the Consul General of Canada in San Francisco, Rana Sarkar.

An economic mission to the summit was also organized by MESI, in collaboration with the Québec Government Office in Los Angeles and the Québec Trade Office in Silicon Valley. It included Québec companies and research centers in the clean technology sector. Activities included a networking breakfast with the San Francisco Business Council on Climate Change, a meeting with the World Economic Forum's Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, working meetings with research labs and a lecture by Professor Mark Z. Jacobson of Stanford University. The main objective of this mission was to showcase Québec’s expertise in the climate and clean technologies sectors.