Collaboration Framework to Accelerate the Low-Carbon Economy and Create Good Jobs Is Released Under the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Regional Energy and Resource Table
April 9, 2024
The Government of Canada and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, alongside Indigenous groups and industry partners, are working together to build a low-carbon economy that drives clean growth and creates good, sustainable jobs across the province.
The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Regional Energy and Resource Table (NL Regional Table) is one of nine Regional Tables the Government of Canada has established to date with individual provinces and territories. Launched in June of 2022, the NL Regional Table is helping to advance the province’s top economic priorities for a low-carbon future in the province’s energy and resource sectors.
Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and the Honourable Andrew Parsons, Newfoundland and Labrador’s Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology, released The Newfoundland and Labrador Regional Energy and Resource Table Framework for Collaboration on the Path to Net Zero. It identifies four areas of economic opportunity to prioritize in a net-zero future: critical minerals; wind and hydrogen development; electrification; and carbon capture and storage. The Collaboration Framework is also supported with federal investments totalling over $2.5 million to make progress toward the two governments’ shared commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050. In addition, the Collaboration Framework proposes to significantly expand and deepen provincewide engagement on climate action through the NL Regional Table.
Central to the Collaboration Framework is an acknowledgment that the integration of Indigenous perspectives is critical to realizing a low-carbon economy that is grounded in respect, recognition and reconciliation. This approach also aligns with Canada’s adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
Other key goals agreed upon by Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador include:
- Maximizing Newfoundland and Labrador’s renewable energy resources, including wind for traditional and emerging domestic and export markets (e.g., hydrogen and other clean fuels) and services, and contributing to the global energy transition;
- Sustainably developing the province’s renewable energy and mineral resources to attract investment and expertise, create employment and maximize value throughout the supply chain development;
- Positioning Newfoundland and Labrador as a leader in the transition to a net-zero future; and
- Leveraging the province’s skilled workforce to help transform existing industries and advance new ones.
Through these collaborative efforts, the two levels of government, Indigenous partners and stakeholders can position Newfoundland and Labrador to be a global energy, mining and technology supplier of choice in a net-zero world while creating good jobs and lasting prosperity across the province.
