Canada’s
Net-Zero
Economy
Securing Prosperity in a Net-Zero World
A pan-Canadian conference on the risks and opportunities ahead.
Canada’s
Net-Zero
Economy:
Securing Prosperity in a Net-Zero World
A pan-Canadian conference on the risks and opportunities ahead.
Speakers
Kluane Adamek
Kluane Adamek
Dale Beugin
Dale Beugin
Mark Carney
Mark Carney
Mark Carney is a Vice Chair of Brookfield Asset Management and Head of ESG and Impact Fund Investing. In this role, he is focused on the development of products for investors that will combine positive social and environmental outcomes with strong risk-adjusted returns.
Mr. Carney is an economist and banker who served as the Governor of the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020, and prior to that as Governor of the Bank of Canada from 2008 until 2013. He was Chairman of the Financial Stability Board from 2011 to 2018. Prior to his governorships, Mr. Carney worked at Goldman Sachs as well as the Canadian Department of Finance.
He is a long-time and well-known advocate for sustainability, specifically with regard to the management and reduction of climate risks, and is currently the United Nations Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance.
He is also an external member of the Board of Stripe, a global technology company building economic infrastructure for the internet and a member of the Global Advisory Board of PIMCO, the Group of Thirty, the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum, the Harvard Board of Overseers, Oxford Blavatnik School of Government, as well as the boards of Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Peterson Institute for International Economics and the Hoffman Institute for Global Business and Society at INSEAD.
Mr. Carney received a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Harvard University and a master’s degree and doctorate from Oxford University.
Dawn Farrell
Dawn Farrell
Dawn spent over 35 years in the electricity business and held a variety of positions in TransAlta and BC Hydro. She is currently the lead director for Chemours Inc. and a member of the board of Canadian Natural Resources. She has held past board positions including Fording Coal, Business Council of Canada, Alberta Business Council, Conference Board of Canada, Mount Royal University, and Vision Quest Windelectric and the New Relationship Trust. She had contributed to electricity and environmental policy development in Alberta, British Columbia and federally in Canada.
She is currently the Chancellor for Mount Royal University and a member of the Trilateral Commission and a Community Champion for Momentum. She co-chaired the Calgary United Way Campaign in 2013. She has a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Masters degree in Economics from the University of Calgary and has attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
As a large company CEO, with a decade of experience, Dawn has led multiple complex M&A transactions including floating TransAlta Renewables, completing a companywide complex cultural transformation, critically evaluating and negotiated a complex off coal transaction with government, building a significant business presence in Australia, and executing private and public financial transactions to advance TransAlta’s strategic shift away from coal fired generation.
As a community leader, Dawn is known for her deep policy work in electricity, the environment and ESG. She is a co-founder of the Alberta Business Council and has worked with the Canadian government on a roadmap for advancing renewable wind technology and was a member of the Canada-U.S. Council for the Advancement of Women Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders. She also has extensive experience in negotiating agreements with First Nations in British Columbia.
Patricia Fuller
Patricia Fuller
Patricia Fuller was named Canada’s Ambassador for Climate Change on June 5, 2018 for a term of three years.
The mandate for Canada’s Ambassador for Climate Change includes:
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- providing advice on climate change considerations in Canada’s international priorities;
- leading bilateral engagements with partner countries on clean growth and climate change;
- representing Canada in international cooperative initiatives related to climate change; and
- promoting Canada’s clean growth and climate change priorities.
Ms. Fuller holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Economics and Political Studies from Queen’s University, and a Master of Science with distinction from the London School of Economics.
She served abroad as Ambassador of Canada to Uruguay from 2004 to 2007 and as Ambassador to Chile from 2012 to 2015. Previous international assignments also included Mexico and Guatemala.
In Ottawa, Ms. Fuller has specialized in trade and economic policy, as well as climate change and energy. At Canada’s foreign ministry, she served as Deputy Director for Trade Remedies (1997-1999), Director of the Softwood Lumber Division (2003-2004), Chief Economist (2007-2010), Director General of Planning and Reporting (2010-2012) and Director General of Economic Development (2017-2018).
She was seconded to Natural Resources Canada from 2015 to 2017, to head up the Office of Energy Efficiency. She also managed environment and climate change files earlier in her career while working at the Privy Council Office where she supported the Cabinet Committee on Economic and Regional Development Policy from 2000 to 2003.
Marie-Pierre Ippersiel
Marie-Pierre Ippersiel
Marie-Pierre Ippersiel is the Co-Chair of Canada’s Net-Zero Advisory Body. She is also President and Chief Executive Officer at PRIMA Québec. Prior to this, she spent over six years working as Vice-President for the cleantech industry cluster Écotech Québec. Among other responsibilities, she managed the cluster’s operations, coordinated steering committees and developed a variety of content. As Research Advisor for the Montreal Metropolitan Community (MMC) between 2004 and 2010, she helped implement the primary tools used in the Greater Montréal Economic Development Plan, including the cluster strategy. In 2003, she produced a notice on innovation in Quebec municipalities for the Conseil de la science et de la technologie. Ms. Ippersiel holds a PhD in Urban Studies from the INRS – Centre Urbanisation Culture Société, where she focused on science/industry relations and technological support for SMEs in college technology transfer centres. She took part in the Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference in 2017. She also sits on the boards of directors for NanoCanada, Green Surface Engineering for Advanced Manufacturing Strategic Network, ADRIQ, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS).
Jeffrey Jones
Jeffrey Jones
Jeffrey Jones writes about sustainable finance and the ESG sector for the Globe and Mail. He is a veteran journalist who has reported on many topics from numerous locales over three decades, with specialties in energy and business. He is based in Calgary.
Tamara Lawson
Tamara Lawson
Tamara has accumulated considerable senior management experience in the areas of financial reporting, planning and analysis, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and capital markets. Her real estate experience includes both domestic and international markets for public and private enterprises across all asset classes, where she worked on complicated transactions and structures to create value for stakeholders. Prior to joining QuadReal, Tamara was the Chief Financial Officer of Dream Global REIT, Starlight Investments and Westmont Hospitality Group/InnVest REIT.
Tamara currently sits on the board of the audit, investment and governance committees of American Hotel Income Properties REIT. She holds an MBA degree from the Schulich School of Business at York University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.
Helen Mountford
Helen Mountford
Helen Mountford is Vice President for Climate and Economics at WRI. The Climate team helps policymakers, businesses and civil society in countries around the world and through international collaboration identify and advance the deep structural shifts needed to successfully address climate change. The Economics team supports work across WRI by integrating an economics approach as appropriate to strengthen the underlying analysis and impact of our work. Helen is also Program Director for the New Climate Economy (NCE) project, the flagship initiative of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate that provides independent and authoritative evidence on actions which can both strengthen economic performance and reduce the risk of dangerous climate change.
Helen previously worked as Deputy Director of Environment for the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). She worked at OECD for over 16 years advising governments on policy reforms, and overseeing work on green fiscal reform, climate change finance and economics, fossil fuel subsidy reforms, green growth, water pricing, biodiversity incentive measures, and economy-environment outlooks and modelling. Prior to joining the OECD, Helen managed recycling schemes in England and worked for an NGO in Australia.
Helen holds Master of Science degrees in Environmental Economics from University College London and in Environmental Management from University of Melbourne. She has a BA in Philosophy and History.
Sandra Odendahl
Sandra Odendahl
Sandra Odendahl is Vice President of Social Impact and Sustainability at Scotiabank, joining the bank in November 2019 with almost 25 years of experience in environmental science, corporate sustainability, and responsible finance. Before joining Scotiabank, Sandra was President and CEO of CMC Research Institutes (CMCRI), a 12-person environmental company that helps clients develop innovative carbon management technologies and strategies for competitive advantage. Previously, she held a number of roles at RBC including leading Corporate Sustainability, Social Finance and Environmental Risk Management. Sandra has a Master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Toronto, and is a licensed professional engineer (P.Eng) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter holder.
Althia Raj
Althia Raj
Prior to joining the Star in September, Althia served as HuffPost Canada’s senior editorial manager and Ottawa bureau chief, from the news site’s inception in 2011 to its closure earlier this year. She ran a bilingual newsroom, oversaw political coverage of Parliament Hill and of the National Assembly in Quebec City, and also produced and hosted the popular politics podcast “Follow-Up.” During her 15-plus years covering federal politics, Althia has also worked as a national political reporter for Postmedia News, and for QMI/Sun Media. She served as a network producer for CTV and as an associate producer for the CBC Radio program “The House.” She is the recipient of several digital media awards for her multi-media election coverage.
Althia was one of the moderators of the 2019 federal election debate. She moderated a federal NDP leaders debate in 2017 and the Ontario PC leadership debate in 2018.
She is an occasional columnist with Le Devoir, a weekly contributor to CPAC’s French-language program “L’Essentiel” and its “Today In Politics” podcast. She is a also a frequent guest on Radio-Canada’s 24|60 and En direct avec Patrice Roy.
Althia is a proud Parliamentary Internship Program alumna. A graduate of McGill University, she serves on the Board of Trustees of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada. She is also a volunteer board member of the Ottawa Art Gallery and the co-founder of apt613.ca, an award-winning not-for-profit arts and culture blog.
Rachel Samson
Rachel Samson
Rick Smith
Rick Smith
Chris Stark
Chris Stark
Chris Stark is the Chief Executive of the UK Climate Change Committee (CCC), the independent authority on tackling climate change under the UK’s Climate Change Act. Chris leads a team of analysts and specialists, offering expert insight into the challenges of reducing UK emissions and adapting to the changing climate.
Chris led the CCC’s work to recommend a ‘Net Zero’ target for the UK – and has since directed detailed analysis and advice on the UK’s path to carbon neutrality. He speaks regularly on the transition to a zero carbon economy and the need to confront climate change with urgency.
Chris has wide experience in government. He has designed economic policy in Whitehall, including in HM Treasury and the former Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. He was previously Director of Energy and Climate Change in the Scottish Government, leading the development of the Scottish energy and climate strategies.
Fatima Syed
Fatima Syed
Jessica Verhagen
Jessica Verhagen
Jessica Verhagen, CEO, is responsible for the development and implementation of Hydra Energy’s strategy and leads raising capital and business development. She previously was the VP of Business Development for Ecosphere+, the sales and marketing arm for Mirova Natural Capital in London, where she successfully sold hundreds of millions in environmental assets proving a new business model for investing in nature. She supported the close of Series B and go to market strategy for cleantech company, Axine Water. She was part of the founding team of Evoke Innovations, a fund that raised $100 million from oil and gas companies to invest in early stage cleantech. She started her career in government where she led a team of over a hundred to price carbon and foster the green economy in British Columbia. Jessica studied environmental economics at University of Victoria. She was the recipient of the 2021 Clean50 Awards that celebrate Canada’s sustainability leaders.
Dan Wicklum
Dan Wicklum
Jonathan Wilkinson
Jonathan Wilkinson
Raised in Saskatchewan, Minister Wilkinson spent more than 20 years in the private sector, holding leadership positions with a number of companies dedicated to the development of green technologies.
Minister Wilkinson’s work as CEO of both QuestAir Technologies and the former BioteQ Environmental Technologies (now BQE Water Inc.), in addition to his role as senior Vice-President of Business Development with Nexterra, provided him with extensive experience in the energy and environmental technology sectors. He also previously worked at Bain & Company, a leading global management consultancy.
A Rhodes Scholar, Minister Wilkinson made use of his educational background in public policy when he worked as a constitutional negotiator and a federal-provincial relations specialist for former Saskatchewan Premier Roy Romanow. He has served on several industry and charitable boards, including the United Way of the Lower Mainland and the B.C. Technology Industry Association. He also served as a board member and treasurer of the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation.
Minister Wilkinson has deep roots in North Vancouver, where he is raising his family alongside his wife, Tara.