The Governments of Canada and the United States Announce Greening Government Initiative

Today, in conjunction with President Biden’s Leaders Summit on Climate, Canada and the United States announced a new initiative to engage governments around the world in greening government operations. Leading by example, the two countries also announced they will collaborate as they each work towards the goal they share of net-zero emissions government.

Canada, the United States and like-minded governments around the globe are addressing climate change and greening their operations, including using cleaner energy sources, moving to zero-emission vehicles, greening their procurement and pursuing green and resilient infrastructure.

As a first step in their collaborative work, the Government of Canada’s Treasury Board Secretariat and the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) are creating the first of its kind forum for countries to cooperate on greening their government operations. This initiative will enable countries around the world to share lessons learned, promote innovation and, where relevant and possible, set common greening government goals to support the work underway by countries to meet their commitments under the Paris Agreement.

The Greening Government Initiative will enable formal and informal international cooperative opportunities, including information sharing, technical exchange, working groups, data stewardship, strategic partnerships, workshops, and communications.

The collaborative work being initiated by Canada and the United States also includes bilateral work to leverage shared purchasing power to drive government operations to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and increase the climate resilience of fixed assets.

Both countries agree to work together to identify a pathway to net-zero supply chains for our buildings (e.g. renewable energy, concrete, steel), and fleet (zero-emission vehicles and clean fuels).

Quotes

“Canada is committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, including in its government operations.  We look forward to working with the United States and other countries on our collective GHG reduction goals and on greening government operations, including the adoption of greening procurement strategies.  Moving forward together is key. By collaborating, we will all benefit from each other’s experience, best practices and innovation.

– The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, President of the Treasury Board

“Confronting the climate crisis requires unprecedented cooperation across the globe to meet the urgency science requires,” said CEQ Chair Brenda Mallory. “By partnering to green our respective governmental operations, the United States and Canada can not only achieve our climate goals faster but we can serve as a model for what we are trying to achieve through our joint Greening Government Initiative. I look forward to seeing more international collaborations forged so that we can create a healthier climate for future generations.”

– Brenda Mallory, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality

Quick facts

• The Government of Canada’s Centre for Greening Governmentsupports climate action and sustainability in government operations. The mandate of the Centre is to provide government-wide leadership toward net-zero, climate-resilient and green Government of Canada operations.
• The Greening Government Strategy supports the Government’s commitment for net-zero emissions by 2050 and includes an interim target of a 40% reduction by 2025 for federal facilities and conventional fleet.
• The Government of Canada is committed to 100% clean electricity procurement by 2022 for federal operations, and to purchase clean fuels (including marine and aviation fuels), as per the 2021 budget.
• The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) was created in 1969 by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the purpose of coordinating efforts to improve, preserve, and protect America’s public health and environment.
• The Biden-Harris Administration has mobilized across government in addressing the climate crisis, from the national to the local level and across all agencies. As outlined in the January 27, 2021, executive order on tackling the climate, the U.S. Federal  Government is directed to align its management of federal procurement and real property to achieve a 100 percent clean energy economy by 2035 and reach net-zero emissions no later than 2050.