MEDIA ADVISORY
PARIS, JUNE 21, 2023 – The Honourable Catherine McKenna, former Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister of Infrastructure and Communities for Canada, has been awarded the prestigious honour of “Chevalier” in the French National Order of the Legion of Honour. The award was presented today by Bérengère Couillard, Secretary of State to the French Minister of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, at the official residence of the Ambassador of Canada to France and Monaco, Stéphane Dion.
Ms. McKenna was awarded the honour by the French government in recognition of her “contribution to strengthening the relationship between France and Canada on issues of common interest, and in particular [her] role in shaping the Paris Agreement at COP21.”
The ceremony was attended by French diplomat and a key architect of the Paris agreement, Laurence Tubiana, and Laurent Fabius, President of the Constitutional Council, and former Foreign Minister of France and President of COP 21.
The Legion of Honour is the highest French order of merit for military and civil achievements, and has been awarded to other prominent Canadians from many fields, including the arts, politics, literature, and science.
Ms. McKenna was named by the French government as one of the lead negotiators at COP21, successfully landing Article 6 of the Paris Agreement on carbon markets. She also negotiated the France-Canada Partnership on Climate and the Environment, which she signed on behalf of Canada in 2018 to accelerate ambition on climate change and further the partnership between Canada and France on clean technologies. Ms. McKenna also participated in the French One Planet Summit.
As Canada’s Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, she successfully negotiated Canada’s first comprehensive climate change plan including a price on carbon across Canada and a national coal phase out, and doubled the amount of nature protected in Canada in partnership with Indigenous Peoples. Internationally she helped establish the Powering Past Coal Coalition, the Ministerial on Climate Action and the Nature Champions Summit.
Last year, Ms. McKenna chaired the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero, setting out clear standards and criteria for net-zero commitments of business, financial institutions, cities and regions. Their groundbreaking “Integrity Matters” report launched at COP27 is helping to recognize leadership on climate action while reigning in greenwashing. She currently serves on the Climate Data Steering Committee for the Macron-Bloomberg led new Net-Zero Data Public Utility. This initiative aims to make climate transition-related data openly available in a single place for the first time, providing accurate, trusted, and verifiable data, which is critical to enabling the delivery of a net-zero economy.
Born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Ms. McKenna has dedicated her career to fighting climate change and promoting sustainable development. She is the Principal of Climate and Nature Solutions, an advisory firm focused on scaling action and financing to tackle the climate crisis. She founded Women Leading on Climate and is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Columbia University.
Ms. McKenna said she was deeply honoured to receive the Legion of Honour, and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to work with people from around the world to fight climate change. “The climate crisis requires global action and leadership. I am honoured to work with the French government and the French people to move from words to action on Net Zero commitments to protect the only planet we have. This award is not just for me, but for all those who have worked tirelessly on climate change over decades,” she said. “We still have a long way to go, but together we can achieve a sustainable future for all. I want more women and girls to see that they are the climate leaders the world needs. I hope this honour helps to show that we can all make a difference.”
Ms. McKenna is in Paris this week participating in the Summit for a new Global Financing Pact convened by President Macron as well as associated events.
Ms. McKenna is available for media interviews.
Between 2015 and 2021, Catherine McKenna served as Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change and then as Minister of Infrastructure and Communities.
Media Contact:
Name: Peter MacLeod
Time Zone: Paris (GMT +2 | 6 hours ahead of ET)
Phone: +1-416-833-3194
Email: peter@masslbp.com
Photo courtesy of Indrid, Cold, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
