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COVID-19

Effective August 1, 2020, wearing a mask or face covering is mandatory in all indoor public places and public vehicles. Learn more at edmonton.ca/COVID-19.

 

EPCOR Stage

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From March 5-7, this free public stage offered more than 20 presentations, performances and films on the current state of climate science.

Discussing Climate Science and Much More

Running in parallel with the 2018 Cities and Climate Change Science Conference, EPCOR and the City of Edmonton hosted the Change for Climate–EPCOR Stage.

This free public stage updated Edmontonians and Albertans on the current state of climate science, explore the urgency of the situation and the need for action, and showcase existing and emerging solutions, including the important role of cities and made-in-Alberta solutions.

Venue Details

All the EPCOR Stage events took place in Hall A of the Shaw Conference Centre.

Program At a Glance

Download a printable PDF version of the EPCOR Stage program.

Change for Climate Series

Explore the power of art to communicate the stories of climate change. The Change for Climate Community Series offers various unique events leading up to, during, and after the 2018 Cities and Climate Change Science Conference. 

EPCOR Stage Daily Schedule March 5-7

Day One-March 5

8:15-8:30am
Welcome

Master of Ceremonies: David Dodge is an environmental journalist, the producer of GreenEnergyFutures.ca, the Chair of the Board of Energy Efficiency Alberta and the Co-chair of Edmonton City Council’s Energy Transition Advisory Committee. 

8:30-10am
Livestream Opening Plenary of the CitiesIPCC Conference
10-10:45am
Science of Climate Change

Description:  This session provides an update on the latest research on climate change from a global perspective.

Presenter: Katharine Hayhoe is a leading climate scientist who has been named one of FORTUNE’s ‘World’s Greatest Leaders’, TIME’s ‘100 Most Influential People’ and Christianity Today’s 50 Women to Watch as a result. Read her complete biography.

10:45-10:50am

Break

10:50-11:30am
Responding to Climate Change – Indigenous Community Success Stories  

Presenter: Hon. Richard Feehan, Minister of Indigenous Relations, Government of Alberta, and Indigenous community representatives discuss how Indigenous communities will experience climate change in ways that differ from most Canadians, due to their geographic location, economic situation and reliance on the environment.

The session explores how these communities, in collaboration with the Government of Alberta, are responding to this challenge through the Indigenous Climate Leadership Initiative.

11:30am-noon
EPCOR Reception
Noon-1:15pm
Noon Hour Keynote
Leading Change

Description: An update on the federal and provincial governments' climate change plans, priorities and initiatives.

Presenters: The Hon. Catherine McKenna, MP, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Government of Canada,  and the Hon. Shannon Phillips, MLA, Minister of Environment and Parks and Minister Responsible for the Climate Change Office, Government of Alberta.

1:15-1:30pm

Break

1:30-2:10pm
Greening the Alberta Grid

Description: This session discusses changes that are underway to green Alberta’s electricity grid, including the challenges and opportunity that lie ahead involving renewable resources.

Moderator: Tim Weis is an Industrial Professor in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta. 

Panelist: Sara Hastings-Simon is the director of the Pembina Institute’s clean economy program in Alberta.
Panelist: Robert Hornung is President of the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA).

2:10-2:15pm

Break

2:15-2:55pm
Edmonton Prepares for Climate Change

Description: This session shares research into the climate change impacts that will be experienced by Edmonton and the adaptation strategy the City of Edmonton is developing.

Presenter: Chandra Tomaras, Program Manager, Regional and Economic Development, City of Edmonton, joined by climate experts. 

2:55-3pm

Break

3-3:40pm
Consumption-based Carbon Footprints of Global Cities

Description: This session presents new research revealing the relationship between the consumption that occurs in a city and a city’s resulting carbon footprint.

Presenter: Michael Doust is the Programme Director, Measurement and Planning at C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group.

3:40-3:45pm

Break

3:45-4:25pm
Alberta City Success Stories  

Description: This session profiles the efforts of Alberta municipalities to improve energy efficiency of their facilities, lead as early adopters of renewable energy, and support the efforts of citizens.

Moderator: Marc Huot is the Director, Energy Efficiency Programs, at Energy Efficiency Alberta, a new Government of Alberta agency responsible for helping Albertans reduce their energy consumption and improve their energy efficiency.

Panelist: Mike Mellross, Program Manager, Regional and Economic Development, City of Edmonton
Panelist: Arsheel Hirji, Leader, Sustainable Infrastructure, City of Calgary

4:25-4:30pm

Break

4:30-5:30pm
Connecting Science and Cities: a Conversation with Dr. Katharine Hayhoe and George Marshall

Description: Two leading thinkers bring together what science has to say about cities and the people who live in them. Drawing on their work in Alberta, climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe shares her latest research on how climate change will impact cities and discusses with George Marshall how we can build bridges to better climate conversations.

Presenter: Katharine Hayhoe is a leading climate scientist.

Presenter: George Marshall is a climate communication specialist and advisor to both the World Bank and United Nations. He is a co-founder of Climate Outreach and lead researcher of the Alberta Narratives Project.

5:30-5:45pm

Break

5:45-7pm
Sustainability of Tomorrow: Youth Voices for Climate Action

Description: This session profiles eight youth sharing their hopes and concerns about climate change, and their recommendations for action: Powered by Pecha Kucha.

Presenters: Alberta youth, ranging from teenagers to young professionals.

Kabir Nadkarni: Equity at the Global Commons: Climate Change as the Defining Human Rights Conflict of the 21st Century
Elizabeth Gierl: Learning how to be an Environmentalist
Ronak Patel: Embracing Change
Jason Wang: The Circles of Sustainability: How can I... change the world?
Ann Normand: Forestry: Sustainable Innovation
Danielle Koleyak: Transforming to a Resilient City
Kercia Kerr: #LoveYourHeadwaters and Mitigate Climate Change
Dustin Bajer: Biophilic Cities: Partnering with Nature to Create Climate Ready Cities

Day Two-March 6

10-11:30am
Alberta Cities of the Future: Achieving Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions

Description: This session, led by Associated Engineering Group Ltd., starts with a 30 minute big-picture, compelling vision of the low carbon, green energy cities of the future – followed by a shorter presentation and a panel discussion exploring the challenges of implementation.

Presenter: Christopher Kennedy, Professor and Chair of Civil Engineering, University of Victoria, joined by Alberta practitioners who are striving to build low carbon cities. 

Panelists: 
Peter Ohm, Chief Planner, City of Edmonton 
Howaida Hassan, Energy Transition Unit, City of Edmonton
Sean Pander, Green Building Programs, City of Vancouver

Associated Engineering Subject Matter Experts:
Bryan Petzold , Vice-President-Transportation
Dean Shiskowski, Vice-President-Water
Mark Porter, Technical Services 
Jeremy Fyke, Climate Science 
Ruben Arellano, Green Energy

11:30am-Noon
EPCOR Reception
Noon-1pm

Greetings: Hon. Deron Bilous, Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Government of Alberta

Noon Hour Keynote
The Hard Work of Hope: Water and Climate Security in a Warming World

Description: This session explores society’s power to mitigate dangerously accelerating hydro-climatic cycles, by enlisting the powers of nature.

Presenter: Bob Sandford holds the EPCOR Chair in Water and Climate Security at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health. View some of Bob Sandford's publications.

1-1:30pm

Break

1:30-2:25pm
Alberta Solutions to Global Climate Change Challenges

Description: This session offers three case studies of next generation innovators who are building on Alberta’s existing foundations to prepare Alberta for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Moderator: Klaas Rodenburg, President, Alberta Council of Technologies Society

Presenter: John Redfern, EAVOR Technologies
Presenters: Donna Mandau and Leah Coumont, Graphene Leaders Canada
Presenter: Allan Offenberg, Professor Emeritus, University of Alberta

2:25-2:30pm

Break

2:30-3:30pm
Building a Sustainable Edmonton

Description: This session delivers seven rapid-fire presentations, showcasing City of Edmonton land use, urban form, transportation, buildings and citizen engagement initiatives aimed at making Edmonton a low-carbon, sustainable city.

Presenter: Moderated by Gary Klassen, Deputy City Manager, Regional and Economic Development, City of Edmonton  

3:30-3:45pm

Break

3:45-4:25pm
Just Powers–Climate Change & Social Justice

Description: This moderated conversation explores ‘climate justice’ with a focus on just energy transition, as understood by environmental social justice activists, anti-poverty activists, decolonial climate activists, alternative media and community arts activists, writers and scientists.

Main Presenter: Sheena Wilson is Associate Professor at the University of Alberta Campus Saint-Jean, co-director of the international Petrocultures Research Group, and research lead on Just Powers. 

Panelist: Dr. Angele Alook is a proud member of Bigstone Cree Nation, an Indigenous labour researcher for the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), Staff Advisor on the Environmental Committee for AUPE, and steering-committee member for the Indigenous Labour History Project for ALHI (Alberta Labour History Institute).
Panelist: Dr. Natalie S. Loveless is a conceptual artist, curator, and assistant professor of contemporary art history and theory at the University of Alberta.
Panelist: Dr. Mary Elizabeth Luka is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Alberta for iDoc and Speculative Energy Futures grant.
Panelist: Dr. Sourayan Mookerjea is a writer and director of the Intermedia Research Studio at the Department of Sociology, University of Alberta.

4:25-4:30pm
Break
4:30-5:30pm
Climate Change Impacts on Indigenous People

Description: This session begins with a traditional Indigenous welcome and ceremony, followed by a short presentation and panel discussion covering the observed impacts of climate change, and barriers to climate action as observed by Alberta’s Indigenous communities.

Presenter: Led by Crystal Lameman, Environment and Climate Policy Analyst, Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations, and Andres Filella, Manager of Climate Leadership at the Métis Nation of Alberta.

5:30-5:45pm

Break

5:45-6:45pm
Performance – On the River

A live performance of music and video that tells the story of the Cree, Dene and Metis peoples community of Fort McKay, through the lens of the life of former chief Dorothy McDonald. 

Day Three-March 7

10-10:40am
Energy Efficiency: What's Happening in Alberta

Description: This session explores the many exciting energy efficiency initiatives taking place in Alberta to reduce energy consumption, improve energy efficiency, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Presenter: Monica Curtis is the Chief Executive Officer of Energy Efficiency Alberta.

10:40-10:45am

Break

10:45-11:30am
Insights from World Researchers-Second Assessment Report on Climate Change and Cities

Description: This session presents key findings from the just-released Second Assessment Report on Climate Change and Cities, produced by the Urban Climate Change Research Network.

Main Presenter: Dr. Cynthia Rowenzweig, co-director, Urban Climate Change Research Network, and panel.

Presenter: Prof. William Solecki, Professor, City University of New York and UCCRN Co-Director

Presenter: Dr. Patricia Romero-Lankao, Senior Scientist, National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and Co-Editor of ARC3.2

Presenter: Shobhakar Dhakal, Head, Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand and Co-Editor of ARC3.2

11:30am-Noon
EPCOR Reception
Noon-1pm
Noon Hour Keynote
While Nations Plan – Cities Act

Description: This session explores the emerging role of cities, from the perspective of David Miller, C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and former mayor of Toronto, and Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson.

Presenter: David Miller, C40 Cities
In Discussion with: Mayor Don Iveson, City of Edmonton

1-1:15pm

Break

1:15-1:55pm
Collaborate to Deliver: The Role of Cities and City Networks in Implementing the Paris Agreement

Description: Cities have played a key role in the adoption of the landmark Paris Agreement on Climate Change in 2015. Two years later, in the face of the alarming lack of ambition by countries to close the emissions gap, their contribution to implement the Agreement is more crucial than ever.

To deliver on the Paris Agreement's long-term goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degree, cities over 100,000 inhabitants must peak emissions by 2020, and become carbon-neutral by 2050. To achieve this, the everyone's effort is needed, particularly city governments and citizens.

Keynote Presenter: Mark Watts is the Executive Director, C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. He has led the growth of C40 from 63 member cities to 92 and is the driving force behind C40’s Deadline 2020 programme, which provides the first routemap for member cities to reduce emissions in line with the 1.5-degree maximum temperature rise target of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Moderator: Rachel Huxley ,C40 Research Manager

Panelist: Gino Van Begin, ICLEI Secretary General

Panelist: Emilia Saiz, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) Secretary General

Panelist: Amanda Eichel, Global Covenant of Mayors Executive Director

Panelist: To Be Determined, representative of Federation of Canadian Municipalities

Moderator: Seth Schultz, C40 Director of Science and innovation

1:55-2:00pm

Break

2:00-2:40pm
Wealth, Health, Happiness: The Benefits of Community Climate Action

Description: This session looks at how community climate change mitigation has immense benefits for citizens, businesses and communities.

Moderator: Robert Summers is the Associate Director, Urban and Regional Planning, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta.
Presenter: Alex Boston is a Fellow of the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue and Executive Director of Renewable Cities at Simon Fraser University.
Presenter: Joe Vipond is an emergency physician in Calgary. He is one of the key organizers for the successful Alberta Coal Phase Out campaign.He currently sits on the boards of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, and the Alberta Wilderness Association.
Presenter: Kurt Borth is currently finishing a PhD in Human Geography and Planning. His research focuses on housing location choice and its related implications of energy use, commuting and transportation costs.

2:40-2:45pm

Break

2:45-3:30pm
Made-in-Alberta Carbon Utilization Innovation

Description: This session examines technologies that are emerging in Alberta to both reduce the cost of carbon capture and transform carbon dioxide into valuable products.

Moderator: Steve MacDonald is the Chief Executive Officer of Emissions Reduction Alberta

Presenter: Issam Dairanieh, CEO, Global CO2 Initiative
Presenter: Rob Niven, CEO, CarbonCure
Presenter: Saad Dara, CEO, Mangrove Technologies

3:30-3:45pm

Break

3:45-4:30pm
A Vision for Alberta in a Low Carbon World

Description: Diverse energy sector leaders from across Alberta share their visions of how Alberta can thrive by producing and using energy in ways that the future requires.

Presenter: Alison Cretney oversees the Energy Futures Lab – an initiative that engages diverse innovators and leaders in shaping a shared vision and launching collaborative projects that leverage Alberta’s energy strengths.
Presenter: Alex Nnamonu, Executive Director, Corporate Policy and Planning, Alberta Municipal Affairs
Presenter: Desmond Bull, Councillor, Louis Bull Tribe
Presenter: Laura Kennett, Supervisor, Integrity Projects, Enbridge
Presenter: Sean Collins, President, Terapin Geothermics

4:30-5:30pm
Livestream Closing Plenary of CitiesIPCC Conference

For More Information

Jim Andrais

Title Community Events Manager
Telephone

780-944-7520
Email jim.andrais@edmonton.ca

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