Globe Climate: COP27 winding down, plus meet our recent environment reporter

In case you’re reading this on the net or someone forwarded this e-mail newsletter to you, you possibly can join for Globe Climate and all Globe newsletters here.

Good afternoon, and welcome to Globe Climate, a newsletter about climate change, environment and resources in Canada.

A decade ago, Idle No More made Indigenous issues visible in a recent way, and photography was vital to that – because it was in other moments of defiance to colonialism. By letting the themes themselves speak to those six historical images, and showing them as they’re today, we will take viewers a step closer to empathy – and perhaps even understanding.

Now, let’s catch you up on other news.

Noteworthy reporting this week:

1. Carbon dioxide emissions: Edmonton declared a climate emergency. Its climate budget shows it’s not on target to satisfy its goals
2. Environment: Congo Basin, the world’s second-biggest rainforest, is now reported to be facing rapid destruction. Also: Rainforest nations Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo and Indonesia form alliance to save lots of jungle.
3. From space: Canadian satellite spies ‘significant’ emission of methane from Quebec landfill site
4. Art: Climate activists throw maple syrup on Emily Carr painting at Vancouver Art Gallery. Last week, the famed painting The Scream was also targeted by climate activists
5. COP27: Today, Germany and other G7 countries, alongside Ghana and the V20 group of vulnerable countries, unveiled plans to launch a “Global Shield” against climate risks. Northern delegates brought an Indigenous, youth perspective to the climate summit this 12 months. Finance also took centre stage in Egypt, as developing countries sought more detail. Nonetheless, there remained slow progress which stoked worry over a final deal, as talks enter the homestretch with key issues unresolved
6. Evaluation from The Narwhal: ‘Appeals are usually not allowed’? Defying residents’ alternative, Doug Ford orders Hamilton to permit sprawl

A deeper dive

Meet The Globe’s environment reporter

Wendy Stueck just isn’t unfamiliar with the work we do. For this week’s deeper dive, she talks to you about what to anticipate from her recent role.

Hello from Vancouver, where I will likely be based as essentially the most recent addition to The Globe and Mail’s climate and environment team.

I’ve reported on various issues for The Globe from our B.C. bureau, including housing, forestry and labour, with coverage starting from a story concerning the politics of Dr. Seuss’s Yertle the Turtle to, with my colleague Mike Hager, a take a look at housing conditions in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

For the past two years, I’ve focused totally on Indigenous business – systemic issues, including access to capital and the way corporate Canada is responding to the Calls to Motion from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission with recent approaches to development and partnerships.

I’ve checked out how Indigenous women are supporting one another as entrepreneurs and the way an Indigenous woman, Margaret Kenequanash, is a key player in putting together a landmark deal to connect distant communities to Ontario’s power grid.

Most recently, I covered an announcement University of British Columbia a couple of biofoam project between UBC researchers and the Wet’suwet’en First Nation. It’s a fledgling enterprise without capital, customers or a marketing strategy – but I desired to cover it due to its approach to Mental property – that it is going to be shared by UBC and the First Nation.

Worldwide, there’s growing recognition that Indigenous people’s contributions to research have from time to time been minimized or neglected. There are also concerns about protecting cultural knowledge; the National Indigenous Economic Strategy for Canada (which I also wrote about notes that First Nations, Inuit and Métis people struggle with existing legal regimes and called for an Indigenous Knowledge Institute to concentrate on the difficulty. (Canada’s Mental Property Strategy, introduced in 2018, includes several initiatives aimed toward addressing Indigenous IP concerns.)

I plan to maintain reporting on Indigenous business and communities, as they’re inextricably linked to issues related to climate change and the environment, including learn how to get better from devastating forest fires or if and the way kelp may also help restore coastal environments and economies.

I hope you’ll send story ideas and feedback.

– Wendy

What else you missed

Opinion and evaluation

Marsha Lederman: Climate change demands a united, global response. Wealthy countries aren’t doing enough

Donna McMahon and Suzanne Senger: Rain returns to B.C.’s Sunshine Coast but impact of the recent drought continues

Axel van Trotsenburg: Where is the cash? A call for transparency in climate finance at COP27

Eric Reguly: How China could play the climate disaster loss and damage game to its geopolitical advantage

Adam Radwanski: Ottawa seems confused about learn how to strengthen its carbon pricing system

Green Investing

What are the perfect sustainable investing strategies? Seven money managers get to check theirs

Seven investment managers have scored mandates to administer a complete of $104.5-million for a gaggle of institutional investors after impressing judges with strategies for establishing portfolios offering each financial gains and credibility in environmental, social and governance measures. After being shortlisted last spring, 11 finalists gave in-person presentations of their strategies to expert judges.

The aim was to focus on best practices in a field that could be confusing, even for pros, because of various different standards for measuring all the things from climate risks, to employee safety, to equity and variety.

Making waves

Each week The Globe will profile a Canadian making a difference. This week we’re highlighting the work of Brianna Salmon supporting community-led climate motion.

Hey, I’m Brianna Salmon, 39, and I’m the chief director at Green Communities Canada.

Local communities are on the frontlines of climate change, and there may be an urgent need to make sure they’ve the resources, capability and expertise required to speed up motion. As the chief director of GCC, I work with my team to directly support community-led climate motion by providing local NGOs with evidence-informed program models, technical training, communications and campaign strategies, and continuing peer-to-peer networking.

The present focus of my work is to strengthen relationships amongst grassroots climate initiatives. My goal is to construct a collaborative movement grounded within the needs of communities from coast to coast to coast. I also work directly with future climate leaders and support postecondary students’ involvement in local climate motion activities. I feel we’d like to support young people of their efforts to fight the climate crisis, because they’re ultimately going to be fighting for our future as well.

– Brianna

Do an engaged individual? Someone who represents the actual engines pursuing change within the country? Email us at GlobeClimate@globeandmail.com to inform us about them.

Photo of the week

Make amends for Globe Climate

We wish to listen to from you. Email us: GlobeClimate@globeandmail.com. Do someone who needs this text? Send them to our Newsletters page.