Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
The Indo-Pacific region is essential to Canada's global efforts to address the triple threats of climate change, nature loss and pollution. Home to both China and India, this region accounts for half the world's population, half the world's carbon emissions and many of the world's most biodiverse countries.
The Indo-Pacific strategy, under its objective of building a sustainable and green future, provides a framework for Canada to advance its environmental priorities within a region critical to the future health of the planet and, by extension, of Canada. Given the global nature of these challenges, engagement with the countries of this region, both bilaterally and in multilateral forums, is essential.
Canada has made important progress in implementing pillar four of the Indo-Pacific strategy through climate finance, support for energy transition, co-operation on biodiversity and prevention of plastic pollution with the countries of this region.
We recognize the need to support developing countries in their mitigation and adaptation strategies to respond to climate change. Canada has committed $5.3 billion to international climate finance. Within these contributions and through multilateral funds and bilateral programming, significant financial support has been directed to the developing countries of the Indo-Pacific region to assist them in reducing their emissions and in adapting to the devastating impacts of climate change.
Clearly, meeting global climate goals will require successful energy transitions, and Canada has developed close partnerships with many of the states of the Indo-Pacific to advance key multilateral initiatives.
As a founding member of the Powering Past Coal Alliance, Canada has encouraged states in the region to commit to the phase-out of unabated coal. Thus far, the Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Singapore and Vanuatu, as well as subnational levels in Australia, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan, have all joined the PPCA.
We're also partnering with New Zealand and South Korea under the global carbon pricing challenge to accelerate global climate action and decarbonization. As more countries adopt pricing solutions, the effectiveness increases, driving innovation and reducing emissions.
In addition, Canada participates in the Just Energy Transition Partnerships, an innovative funding model to support countries' transition away from coal, in both Indonesia and Vietnam. These multinational efforts are mobilizing tens of billions of public and private dollars for infrastructure investment, policy reform, and inclusive, sustainable jobs.
As the link between climate change and nature has become ever clearer, Canada has responded to the need for international action. Home to the secretariat of the Convention on Biodiversity, Canada was the host country for COP15 under China's presidency last year. That conference resulted in the Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework, and in August, Canada pledged $200 million to the global biodiversity framework fund, making it the first country to do so. Going forward, this fund will assist eligible countries in the region in halting and reversing biodiversity loss. Canada recently launched a nature champions network and is inviting countries in the region to work with Canada to promote the goals of this biodiversity framework.
To address plastic pollution, Canada has worked alongside a number of Indo-Pacific countries, including Australia, the Cook Islands, Micronesia, Japan, the Maldives and many others, in a high-ambition coalition to support the development of a new legally binding global instrument on plastic pollution, and we will continue to do so in the lead-up to the fourth UN-led negotiation, to be held in Ottawa next April. In addition, Canada is working with Indonesia, Vietnam, Pakistan and Cambodia through national plastic action partnerships to support these countries in meeting their goals to end plastic pollution. Under the ocean plastics charter, launched under Canada's G7 presidency in 2018, Canada is also working with small island developing states, as well as international and regional companies, to prevent waste from being released into the environment.
To anchor this wide range of collaboration on environmental issues, Canada holds annual environmental dialogues with Australia, Japan and Korea and co-chairs the China council for international co-operation on environment and development. Environmental co-operation is also codified in our free trade agreements, including the CPTPP, and we're pursuing commitments on environment as part of our trade negotiations with Indonesia and with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN.
We use our membership in the G7, G20 and APEC as multilateral opportunities to promote shared environmental goals with key Indo-Pacific countries, including Japan, China, India, Indonesia and Korea.
In closing, Canada's ongoing work with the Indo-Pacific region on the triple threat to the global environment provides a strong basis for Canada and the world as envisaged in the strategy. The work done by Canada also continues to provide a substantive channel of engagement in support of the broader bilateral relationship with the countries in this region.
Thank you.