Minister Savage, leading the Alberta delegation, will fly to Egypt for COP27 this week

Content of the article

Environment and Protected Areas Minister Sonya Savage will lead a six-person Alberta government delegation to the annual COP27 climate summit this week.

Content of the article

Savage is due to arrive in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on Thursday for the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (COP27) to showcase Alberta’s work on reducing emissions.

Content of the article

The world’s largest and most important climate change conference will see political leaders, activists, CEOs and civil society representatives from around the world speak about greenhouse gas emissions and climate change issues. climate change, and Alberta will want to be at the forefront of any climate action plan that may affect its energy industry.

The conference started on Sunday and will continue until November 18.

Savage, the former energy minister sworn in to the Department of the Environment in October, will bring a ministerial staff member, her deputy minister and three staff from the Department of the Environment and Protected Areas. Other representatives including Alberta industry, academia, investors, non-governmental organizations and municipalities will also travel to Egypt.

Content of the article

This includes Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi and Stephanie McCabe, Deputy City Manager for Planning and Economics, who also plan to attend.

In a press release Monday, Savage said she was proud to represent Alberta at COP27 and hoped to showcase the province’s environmental leadership.

« Having a seat at the table with world leaders gives us the opportunity to tell Alberta’s compelling story and ensure that our policies continue to attract the investments needed to protect the environment and sustain the economy, » she said.

Miguel Racin, Savage’s publicist, did not immediately provide Postmedia on Monday with an estimate of the total cost to taxpayers of the trip.

Savage’s delegation is a UCP government turnaround under former Prime Minister Jason Kenney, who did not send any of his ministers to last year’s event in Scotland, calling it a « gabfest ».

Content of the article

Premier Danielle Smith said in October that she wanted to send an Alberta delegation because she doesn’t believe the province is being properly represented by federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.

“He is clearly hostile to our oil and gas sector,” Smith told reporters.

The government statement says the delegation will focus on Alberta’s work in carbon capture, use and storage, investments in hydrogen and critical and rare earth minerals, and efforts to reduce methane emissions in the oil and gas sector.

Savage’s itinerary includes discussions on innovation and energy transformation, speaking at a luncheon hosted by Emissions Reduction Alberta and Alberta Innovates, and bilateral meetings with officials from other governments, including state officials. US, UK and Germany.

ljohnson@postmedia.com

twitter.com/reportrix