COP28: Canada's Position in the Global Stocktake
Join Sarah Burch for an informative discussion with COP experts, Daniel Scott - Professor, University of Waterloo, Dave Sawyer - Chief Economist at the Canadian Climate Institute and Catherine Abreu - Executive Director of Destination Zero. Virtual on Zoom. The panel will showcase expert perspectives on Canada’s progress toward the Paris Agreement targets and how the results of the Global Stocktake might be reflected in the upcoming negotiations at COP28. Our experts will tackle big questions, including is Canada on track and where do we need to change course?
Sarah Burch (moderator)
Sarah Burch, PhD is a professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo as well as the Executive Director of the Waterloo Climate Institute. She holds a Canada Research Chair in Sustainability Governance and Innovation and is an expert in transformative responses to climate change at the community scale, innovative strategies for making progress on sustainability, and the unique contributions that small businesses can make to solving this complex challenge. She leads the international partnership-based research project TRANSFORM: Accelerating sustainability entrepreneurship experiments in local spaces and is the Director of the Sustainability Policy Research on Urban Transformations (SPROUT) Lab. Professor Burch was a Lead Author of the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Daniel Scott
Daniel Scott. PhD is a professor and Research Chair in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo (Canada). For 20 years, his research has focused on the transition to a low carbon tourism economy and adaptation to the complex impacts of a changing climate. He is co-leading the Global Tourism Sector Stocktake for COP-28.
In 2021, he was ranked in the world top 300 climate change scientists by Reuters and in 2023, he was recognized as one of Canada’s leading scholars when he was inducted as a Fellow the Royal Society of Canada.
He has advised a wide range of governments and tourism organizations around the world, including the United Nations World Tourism Organization, United Nations Environment Programme, World Bank, European Tourism Commission, World Travel and Tourism Council, International Olympic Committee, OECD, the Caribbean Tourism Organization. He has also been a contributor to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Third, Fourth, Fifth Assessments and their 1.5°C special report.
His tourism research publications have been featured in many leading media outlets, including The Economist, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, BBC, Time, Scientific American, Sports Illustrated, and National Geographic.
Dave Sawyer
Dave Sawyer is an environmental economist with more than 30 years of experience at home in Canada and abroad. He uses quantitative tools to underpin policy stories about transitioning economies to more sustainable futures. Collaboration is at the centre of his approach, as is asking simple questions to unwind complex issues. Dave strives to provide thought leadership with each engagement. Dave's work can be found buried deep in regulatory processes or very public in policy documents of national interest.
Catherine Abreu
Catherine Abreu is an internationally recognized, award-winning campaigner whose work centres on building powerful coalitions to advance action on climate change. One of the world’s 100 most influential people in climate policy as named by Apolitical in 2019, she has over 20 years of experience campaigning on environmental issues including 10 years in the heart of the global climate movement.
In 2021 Catherine founded Destination Zero, a non-profit that provides consulting services to other non-profits working to build community for a fossil free future. She joined the global climate think tank E3G as a Senior Associate in the same year.
Catherine is one of 14 Advisors appointed to Canada’s Net-Zero Advisory Body, the legally-mandated, arms-length expert body tasked with providing advice to government on pathways to meet its climate commitments. She also serves as an advisor to the Canadian Climate Institute and sits on the Boards and steering committees of several organizations, including Climate Action Network Canada, the Global Gas and Oil Network, the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative and the Black Environmental Initiative.
Catherine served as the Executive Director of Canada’s Climate Action Network – Réseau action climat (CAN-Rac) from 2016 to 2021. Prior to joining CAN-Rac, Catherine spent five years spearheading the energy and climate programs at the Ecology Action Centre, one of Atlantic Canada’s largest and longest-running environmental organizations.
In 2020 Catherine was awarded the Jack Layton Progress Prize for her international leadership on climate policy and action and her transformative work as Executive Director of CAN-Rac.
Her expertise makes her a vital figure in climate policy and action, shaping global discussions on the transition toward clean energy.