Dialogue: Canada China Environmental Diplomacy

Canada will be hosting the 15th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Biological Diversity in December 2022, under China’s Presidency. Over the past several years, the global geopolitical context and bilateral relations between Canada and China have become tense. Yet this moment opens the opportunity not only for the two countries to collaborate on a global public good in making a watershed international agreement to halt the destruction of nature and accelerate restoration, conservation and protection of nature and biodiversity a reality. After a summer defined by extreme global weather events, the endless pandemic, the geopolitical consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and mounting tensions between the United States and China, Canada and China might have in their hands an opportunity to define how they can and will work together in response to these crises on a shared interests basis.

In that spirit, the Canada China Forum, the Institute for Peace & Diplomacy and the Climate Action Network will be co-hosting the Dialogue on the Future of Canada-China Environmental Diplomacy, which will convene policy-makers, researchers, and civil society experts from both countries to collectively reflect on the following question: 

Building on their experience in jointly hosting the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP15, how can China and Canada further collaborate on global environmental threats like the climate and biodiversity crises?

Cooperation with China is needed to address global concerns on climate change and biodiversity. Ottawa has frequently touted that it will cooperate with China on areas of necessity such as the environment as part of its four C-framework: challenge, compete, cooperate and co-exist. This roundtable dialogue seeks to put forward a roadmap on how Canada and other countries can engage China on environmental diplomacy.