Conserving and restoring nature is fundamental for capturing harmful greenhouse gas emissions by pulling more carbon dioxide out of the air, while also safeguarding the places and species that are part of who we are as Canadians. The Government of Canada has launched the largest conservation campaign in the country’s history in order to support meeting its emissions reduction targets and to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.
Today, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced $89.1 million for 10 greenhouse gas emissions reduction projects funded through the Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund. These projects will take place in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec, and will aim to fight climate change while benefitting biodiversity by safeguarding carbon-rich ecosystems from destruction to keep carbon in the ground.
Minister Guilbeault was in British Columbia today to announce almost $50 million for major nature conservation projects in that province:
- The BC Parks Foundation: An investment of $37 million to protect approximately 4,000 hectares of private land and implement natural climate solutions, avoiding the conversion of carbon-rich ecosystems across British Columbia. The project will take place in priority habitats, including grasslands, forests, riparian areas, and wetlands in multiple locations, such as Vancouver Island, the Southern Interior, and Northern British Columbia, benefitting several species at risk.
- The Nature Trust of British Columbia: An investment of $8 million to secure 552 hectares of carbon-rich ecosystems and provide benefits for multiple species at risk, including the Western Toad, the Grizzly Bear, and the Southern Mountain Caribou, among others. This project will result in the creation of 11 new protected areas, including forest, wetland, and grassland habitats on Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, the East Kootenays, and in the Cariboo Region.
- Nuxalk Nation: An investment of over $4 million for this Indigenous-led project that will protect private land and implement natural climate solutions, avoiding the conversion of carbon-rich ecosystems that would result in greenhouse gas emissions, through land acquisition. The activities will take place in priority habitats, including forests in the Great Bear Rainforest near Bella Coola. Species that will benefit include the Marbled Murrelet, the Northern Goshawk, and the Grizzly Bear.
The Government of Canada is investing heavily in nature-based climate solutions that restore degraded ecosystems, create new protected areas, improve land management practices, and achieve milestones, such as planting two billion new trees. Activities supported by the Government of Canada help mitigate climate change, build resilience, improve water quality, and provide critical habitat for Canada’s wildlife.
Quick facts
- The Government of Canada has set the ambitious goal to protect 30 percent of land and water by 2030, as well as halt and reverse nature loss in Canada by 2030 and achieve a full recovery for nature by 2050.
- Canada is home to 24 percent of the world’s wetlands, 25 percent of temperate rainforest areas, and 28 percent of remaining boreal forests.
- Nature-based climate solutions are a key part of Canada’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan.
- The Government of Canada has committed to invest $5 billion over 10 years (2021–2031) in the Natural Climate Solutions Fund. This includes:
- $1.4 billion in Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund, which will help Canada meet its emissions reduction target by reducing five to seven megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually by 2030, using nature-based climate solutions.
- $3.19 billion in the 2 Billion Trees Program, led by Natural Resources Canada.
- $885 million in the Agricultural Climate Solutions, led by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
- In November 2023, the Governments of Canada and British Columbia and the First Nations Leadership Council signed a first-of-its-kind Tripartite Framework Agreement on Nature Conservation, backed by a federal investment of up to $500 million over the life of the Framework Agreement, with matching commitments from the Government of British Columbia, to protect and conserve biodiversity, habitats, and species at risk in the province. The Framework Agreement enables action rooted in recognition of First Nations title and rights to reach British Columbia’s and Canada’s goal of protecting 30 percent of land in British Columbia by 2030.
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