Former Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna joins Columbia University
Former Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna to Join Columbia University as Distinguished Visiting Scholar Global Energy Policy Center (CGEP). In this role, she plans to develop practical solutions to help scale climate action with CGEP and the new Columbia Climate School. Areas she will focus on include: accelerating the transition from coal to clean energy, advancing work on carbon pricing, border carbon adjustment and carbon markets, and supporting women’s climate leadership.
Former Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna to join Columbia University as a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Centre for Global Energy Policy
“The climate threat is the greatest crisis facing humanity today. We now need new mindsets and systemic change to tackle climate change ambitiously,” McKenna said. “I am thrilled to be partnering with the Center for Global Energy Policy and the first school of its kind in the U.S. — the Columbia Climate Institute — to engage with incredible students and faculty on practical solutions to the climate crisis. We urgently need to accelerate A global transition from coal to clean energy and ensuring a fair transition for workers and communities. We also need to expand carbon pricing and advance border carbon adjustments to increase competitiveness and develop more efficient carbon markets. Crucially, we need Support and empower women and girls who are leading the fight against climate change.”
McKenna is the founder and principal Climate and Natural Solutions and recently launched “Women’s Leadership Climate” exist COP26 Glasgow last November. As Canada’s first Minister of Environment and Climate Change, she was the lead negotiator of the Paris Agreement (specifically Article 6 on carbon markets) before introducing and successfully defending landmark legislation that established a carbon price in Canada. She also led efforts to phase out coal and established Canada’s first just transition task force for workers and communities, reducing plastic in oceans and waterways, and working with First Nations to double the amount of nature protected in Canada.
“Catherine is a masterpiece,” said CGEP director Jason Bordoff. “Her energy and spirit as well as her leadership and hands-on experience are needed if we are to have a meaningful impact on addressing the climate crisis. We are delighted that she has chosen to come to Columbia to bring to the students and faculty working on these critical issues All these qualities and more.”
As Minister of Environment and Climate Change, McKenna has helped build a number of international initiatives, including powering past coal coalitions (with Canada, the UK and Bloomberg Philanthropies), the Climate Action Ministerial, Women in Climate Summit and Nature China Kicks Championships Summit. McKenna is co-chair of the World Bank Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition and helped develop the G7 Ocean Plastics Charter. She has worked closely with members of the Obama and Biden administrations on Canada-U.S. and international climate and infrastructure agreements and policies.
She later became Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, where she made historic investments in public transportation and green and resilient infrastructure, leveraged private sector investment to build more public infrastructure through the Infrastructure Bank of Canada, and led the development of Canada’s first national infrastructure assessment pushes Canada to net-zero emissions by 2050.
As a mother of three, today she is focused on scaling climate- and nature-based solutions to drastically reduce global emissions by 2030, including through empowering women and girls and through public-private partnerships.
Listen to the latest news Columbia Energy Exchange Podcast Talk to McKenna about her life and a new phase in her career.
Read Kathryn McKenna’s full bio here.
