Canada's Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada, December 9, 2015.CHRIS WATTIE/Reuters
The federal government will double its spending on clean-energy research to $775-million by 2020, and look for ways to boost the commercialization of the emerging technology, Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr said Thursday.
Mr. Carr was in San Francisco for the two-day Clean Energy Ministerial, an annual meeting of government ministers from the United States, Mexico and other countries committed to boosting spending on technology that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions while creating new jobs in a low-carbon economy.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to double clean-energy research when he attended the Paris climate summit in December. The government's "Mission Innovation" effort is being complemented by the private-sector Breakthrough Energy Coalition, which is led by Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates.
In San Francisco, Mr. Carr put a dollar figure on Canada's commitment, aiming for $775-million in four years.
"Clean technologies will play a key role in Canada's transformation to a low-carbon economy," Mr. Carr said on a conference call with reporters. "By doubling our investment in clean technology, we will help meet our climate-change objectives, increase the productivity and competitiveness of Canadian firms and create clean jobs."
However, the minister acknowledged that a greater effort is required to commercialize the emerging technology and deploy it more broadly through the economy.
"We understand that this for too long has been part of the missing link," he said. "We are aware of it and we are perfectly prepared to be full partners with the private sector and the entrepreneurs to increase the case that can begin to meet the growing international demand and interest."
Mr. Trudeau will be meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto later this month in Ottawa, and the leaders have indicated they will focus on joint efforts to combat climate change, as well as ways to enhance continental trade.
Mr. Carr said he expects greater trilateral collaboration in emerging technologies such as energy storage – which is critical to expanding the role of renewables – as well as common energy-efficiency standards and technologies to capture carbon dioxide and use it as a resource to create other products.