The First Movers Coalition aims to use purchasing power of businesses worldwide to decarbonize ‘heavy-emitting’ sectors such as aviation, shipping and trucking.
The federal government is encouraging Canadian businesses to participate in a World Economic Forum (WEF) initiative that will use their buying power to drive decarbonization across seven industries globally, documents show.
The Canadian government became a
partner in the WEF’s First Movers Coalition (FMC) in January, and Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis sought information on the matter in an
order paper filed in October.
Ms. Lewis asked what obligations and actions Ottawa has undertaken to fulfill its commitments as a partner of the FMC.
“As a Government Partner, the Government of Canada is asked to encourage Canadian businesses to join the coalition and influence future supply chains, while positioning themselves to succeed in a sustainable economy,” wrote Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne in the response tabled on Dec. 11.
The FMC was launched by U.S. President Joe Biden at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a
partnership between the WEF and the U.S. Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry.
According to the WEF website, the FMC currently has over
90 global corporations as members and
13 government partners, which have collectively made
120 commitments. The non-governmental organization says the coalition aims to use the purchasing power of businesses worldwide to decarbonize “
heavy-emitting” sectors, focusing on aluminum, aviation, cement and concrete, shipping, steel, trucking, and carbon dioxide removal.
In a November
briefing note, the FMC said business members are required to sign offtake agreements to “purchase new, clean technologies, driving demand within global decarbonization initiatives, and fostering collaboration with global partners,” in order to bring those technologies to commercial scale.
One example is that members with a trucking
commitment must purchase or contract zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles by 2030. “These can include battery or fuel-cell electric vehicles and also incorporate renewable sources of electricity and hydrogen for charging,” said the FMC. Among those members, trucking owners and operators must also set a target that at least 30 percent of their heavy-duty and 100 percent of their medium-duty truck purchases will be zero-emission trucks by 2030.
As another example, members with a shipping commitment must use “zero-emission fuels in new and in retrofitted zero-emission vessels” by 2030.
Endorsement
Mr. Champagne’s response to Ms. Lewis said his department—Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)—has identified and sent engagement letters to Canadian businesses that may wish to join the WEF’s initiative.The businesses that ISED has sent letters to are automotive supplier
Magna International, manufacturing company
Linamar, business jet manufacturer
Bombardier Inc., carriers Air Canada and Westjet, defence company
CAE Canada, grocer
Loblaw Companies Limited, retailer Canadian Tire Corporation, construction companies
Aecon Group Inc. and
Pomerleau, real estate investor
Ivanhoe Cambridge, environmental consulting firm
WSP Global Inc., engineering service firm
Stantec, and engineering company SNC Lavalin, now known as
AtkinsRéalis.
“The engagement letters reaffirm the federal government’s endorsement of the initiative,” wrote Mr. Champagne, adding that his department has referred the mentioned businesses to the FMC Secretariat to “secure their participation.”
A search on the FMC’s
members page does not show any record of the Canadian companies as of press time.
Ms. Lewis also asked the Liberals to provide Canada’s annual spending associated with being an FMC government partner. Mr. Champagne responded that there are no expenditures or costs to the government for the current fiscal year or anticipated for the next fiscal year as a result of its participation.
The minister said “no policy measures have been or will be implemented as part of the FMC” in response to Ms. Lewis’s question on this issue.
His reply somewhat contradicts a
Jan. 18 ISED news release, in which the department said that by joining the coalition Ottawa will help to “create markets for clean technologies through policy measures and private sector engagement.” The FMC’s
partners page says the coalition is working with a range of partners “in the race toward industry decarbonization” and that the government partners are “committed to the rapid scaling of emerging technologies” by 2030.
Other government partners include Denmark, India, Italy, Japan, Norway, Germany, Singapore, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.
When questioned by Ms. Lewis whether the Liberal government had entered into any contracts or agreements related to its FMC membership or FMC-related commitments, Mr. Champagne said no.
Millions Spent
Federal records recently obtained by The Epoch Times indicate that the Liberal government has
spent nearly $23.5 million on projects involving the WEF since November 2015. The spending included the development of a digital ID for travel, called the Known Traveller Digital Identity, or KTDI.
Budget 2021 had earmarked $105.3 million over five years, starting in 2021-22, for Transport Canada to devote to that project, which also involved the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA).
The CBSA, however, said the project was postponed indefinitely in March 2020 due to the pandemic.
According to the CBSA, the project’s goal was to study “biometric identity management, pre-border submission of declarations” and other means to facilitate the smooth transition of people across borders, as well as to improve security.
An
emailed statement from Transport Canada in late January said that even though the KTDI development had stalled, entities involved in it were committed to bringing the project to a close.
“All partners remain committed to working together to close out the project and disseminate the knowledge gained through this initiative,” said spokesperson Hicham Ayoun at the time.
Canada
also takes part in the WEF’s
Agile Nations network, which aims to usher in the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” by streamlining regulations across jurisdictions to facilitate the proliferation of new technologies such as gene editing and artificial intelligence.
Mr. Champagne’s response on Dec. 11 indicated that Canada has been meeting virtually with its fellow coalition partners, including WEF’s FMC team and consulting firms Ernst & Young, Deloitte, and Boston Consulting Group, bi-monthly since March of this year.
The purpose of the meetings is to “provide a comprehensive update on FMC programme activities and highlight the progress made in each sector,” said the document.
Doug Lett and Noé Chartier contributed to this report.
