Susanna Joshko told the Canadian press that the Trudeau government has shown leadership on the global stage in the fight against climate change.
In particular, she noted that Canada has doubled its financial commitments and increased its targets for reducing carbon emissions. This puts pressure on other countries.
Ms Gushko spoke about the issue as the UK prepares to chair the next UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, which will take place next month in Glasgow, Scotland.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had to face criticism from his political opponents and environmental groups during the last election campaign. Carbon emissions continued to increase from 2015 to 2019, the latest year for which data are available, in Canada.
It is not known whether the new federal policies have enabled the country to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the past two years, but recent data has reinforced the view that Canada’s reputation has been tarnished since 2015.
But not in the eyes of the British, according to Ms. Gushko. It is of course difficult to do what is necessary to achieve our climate goals
as you say.
The transition to a carbon neutral economy is really difficult. The important thing in Canada is that the will to do this is there.
Canada pledged this year to be carbon neutral by 2050. It has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions from 40 to 45% below 2005 levels by 2030.
This desire expressed by the Canadian government indicates that Canada’s strong leadership
In this area, says Gushko. It also highlights the joint work between Canada and Germany to persuade rich countries to mobilize $100 billion to help poor countries combat climate change.
She says this is the kind of leadership we need. All countries must step up their efforts if the next COP is to be successful.
According to her, it is of great importance that China, the world’s largest emitter GES, is playing a role in COP26, but the British government is still waiting to know if President Xi Jinping will be present at the opening of the conference.
The High Commissioner states that although China is energy intensive, it is the country that invests the most in renewable energies.
friendship with Canada
Ms. Gushko was a senior advisor to former Secretary of State Dominic Raab during the period that saw the strengthening of relations between the two countries.
She noted the development of friendship between Mr. Raab and former Canadian Foreign Minister, François-Philippe Champagne, before and after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ms Gushko stated that her former boss was very keen on deepening the UK’s relations with Canada, especially in the wake of Brexit.
This was demonstrated by Canada’s continued support for denouncing the arbitrary imprisonment of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who were finally released in September.
The diplomat states that Canada was among the first to condemn human rights violations in Hong Kong. He punished China for mistreating the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang Province.
I don’t remember a time when Canada refused to support us on these matters
as you say.
Ms. Gushko emphasizes that military cooperation between the UK and Canada has remained strong, particularly in Eastern Europe and the Arctic.
She emphasized that the alliance between the intelligence services of the two countries, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, known as the Five Eyes, remained a top priority for the United Kingdom. Each member state seeks to enhance its capabilities in this field. It says there is nothing to interfere with the formation of UKUS, a new alliance between the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.
I don’t think UKUS hurt the Five Eyes. It would not make sense for us for one organization to operate at the expense of another.