Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Drummond for his interest in the climate change conference that took place in Lima last December. I also thank him for his first question and answer back and forth in 2015. I look forward to a few more of those over the next few weeks.
Our government is working to negotiate a new global climate change agreement that includes commitments from all major emitters. We take the challenge of climate change seriously, which is why we are doing our part, reducing emissions in Canada and working with our international partners. The Canadian delegation played a constructive role in these discussions, which proved to be successful. In fact, while in Lima the Minister of the Environment hosted a successful event to highlight the importance of incorporating traditional knowledge into environmental decision making.
United Nations negotiations are fundamentally a government-to-government exercise. Governments of all participating countries, including Canada, examine issues, make decisions and commitments balancing the global imperative for climate action with their own national circumstances and capacities.
The delegations negotiating on behalf of each country need very specific technical and analytical expertise on a broad range of issues. Recognizing this requirement, the composition of Canada's delegation was decided around the issues at play during the meeting.
In addition to the various countries' delegations, there were also many non-governmental observer organizations in attendance in order to encourage non-governmental stakeholders at the Lima conference to be more open and to take action. Nearly 1,600 organizations throughout the world have observer status and can seek accreditation for their members.
Many Canadian stakeholders can therefore participate in climate conferences, such as the one held in Lima, through some of these organizations.
Our government also recognizes that we do not have to wait until the UN concludes its negotiations to take action on climate change. That is why we are active members of a number of other international forums, where we lead initiatives that can produce short-term benefits.
For example, Canada co-founded the Climate and Clean Air Coalition that supports efforts of about 100 partners in delivering concrete actions to address short-lived climate pollutants in a variety of sectors. Domestically, our government has taken action on mitigation and adaptation in tandem in order to reduce the long-term risks associated with climate change.
Notably, our government is systematically implementing a sector-by-sector regulatory approach for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This approach is complemented by significant investments in clean energy and technology.
In conclusion, both our domestic and international efforts demonstrate our government's commitment to address climate change.