Madam Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my constituents for their faith and trust in me and their continual hard work in advancing our community. It is a great privilege for me to rise today and speak of our government's plan to build a stronger and more resilient Canada.
Over the course of this year, we have faced unprecedented new challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was only a little over six months ago that our new reality came crashing into our lives, and yet in that time Canadians have been able to radically retool our economy to help ensure that we can all continue to put food on the table and keep a roof over our heads while still staying safe from COVID-19.
We can all agree that the world today is drastically different than the one we lived in at the beginning of 2020. The ability of Canadians to not only clearly recognize the threat posed by COVID-19 but also take action at a grassroots level, to mobilize and face it head-on shows how adaptable Canadians are. Benjamin Franklin once said that out of adversity comes opportunity, and we will find that the throne speech embodies this sentiment.
While COVID-19 is the greatest challenge our generation has yet faced, it is not the greatest challenge we will face. Climate change is a threat that we have known about for decades. The scientific consensus is clear: We must keep global warming below 1.5 degrees if we are to avoid the worst effects of climate change, and to do that we must take bold action now. We must apply the same decisiveness and determination that we had in the face of a pandemic to climate change, and for that we need a big plan.
I am very pleased to say that our government has the plan today, and with the help of Canadians across this country we can implement it and build a brighter future for our children, where they no longer live with climate change casting a cloud over their futures. Through policies such as retrofitting homes and other buildings to be more energy-efficient and building new clean energy infrastructure, not only are we investing in protecting our environment, but we are investing in the economy of the future and creating well-paying, middle-class jobs for Canadians when they need them the most. By taking the same all-hands-on-deck approach to climate change that we took for dealing with the pandemic, we can meet our climate goals and build a more prosperous country.
Global markets are already recognizing the great opportunity created by climate action. Investors are abandoning fossil fuels in favour of renewables. Businesses and individuals are switching to electric vehicles and Canadians are reducing their energy cost by retrofitting their homes. The World Bank estimated that climate action will create $30 trillion in new investment opportunities by 2030, and we will help Canadians take advantage of that market.
We are going to make zero-emissions vehicles more affordable for Canadians and invest in new charging infrastructure so that Canadians coast to coast to coast can reach their destination in electric cars. We do not want Canadians just using zero-emissions vehicles, we want to put them to work in building them here in Canada also. Here in Canada, we have the rich natural resources, like copper and nickel, that are needed for zero-emissions vehicles as well as a skilled workforce who can build them.
We are going to create a new fund to attract investment in this technology right here in Canada, and we are going to cut the corporate tax rate in half for those companies that create jobs building clean technology. With these supports, I know that Canada can become a global leader in clean technology, and we will ensure that Canada is the most competitive country in the world for clean technology companies.
We know that this plan will work because it is already working. Recently, Ford announced that it is investing $1.8 billion to produce new fully battery electric vehicles right here in Canada. Industry is recognizing that the future is green, and we are going to make sure that Canada is there, leading the world in this transition to a green economy.
Electric vehicles are important in decarbonizing our economy, but in order to truly maximize their potential, we need to ensure that the energy used to fill their batteries is generated from non-emitting and renewable sources. The energy sector will play a key part in our national effort to build a green economy, and the federal government will be there to support it.
Initiatives like the clean power fund will not only help increase our clean energy-generating capacity, but also build the infrastructure to get the energy from where it is produced to where it is consumed.
Projects like the Atlantic loop will be key in transporting clean electricity throughout the Atlantic region, and we want to be there to help them do it. Clean energy production is absolutely vital to building a prosperous and sustainable future. We will ensure that Canada is a world leader, not only building it here but exporting the technology around the world. Clean energy is essential for our future, but it alone will not be enough to meet our climate commitments and avert the worst effects of climate change.
During this pandemic, Canadians across the country have been reminded of the incredible value of the natural world. Whether they were exploring our rich forests and conservation areas or safely socializing with their friends in public parks, natural areas have provided a great deal of value to those who would otherwise have been stuck inside their homes.
More than just providing a venue for human enjoyment, our natural world is vital to maintaining the health of our planet. Biodiversity loss has been identified as one of the key contributors to the rise of new infectious diseases, like COVID-19. If we are to prevent another disease outbreak like this from happening in the future, it is imperative that we halt the alarming trend of biodiversity loss and extinctions that are rippling throughout Canada and the world.
That is why we are committed to expanding our protected areas so that a quarter of our land mass and a quarter of our oceans are protected in the next five years. In addition to that, we need to make sure that the natural world is more accessible to Canadians. The federal government will work with municipalities to expand urban parks and create healthier cities where all Canadians will have access to the natural beauty Canada has to offer.
In doing this, we will be creating good jobs for Canadians while protecting and enhancing these natural areas, including the planting of two billion trees to sequester carbon and create healthy ecosystems. Tree planting alone is projected to create 3,000 new jobs, where Canadians can make a positive change in their environment every single day.
Creating new parks and expanding our urban forest will have concrete and tangible effects on the livability of our cities, but there is still much more that we can do to make them work for regular Canadians.
We will continue to make our investments in public transit projects, like the successful ION light rail in my riding of Kitchener Centre, and expand active transit infrastructure so more people could ride their bikes to work.
We will help Canadians retrofit their homes and businesses to be more energy efficient, to save on energy costs and to help slash the emissions that come from our built environment.
Every single Canadian in our country will have a part to play in our green transition, and every single Canadian will share in the opportunities it creates. Thirty trillion dollars' worth of opportunity is there, waiting to be earned. We want to ensure that Canadians are there to take advantage of it.
The COVID-19 crisis has already shown us that we have the capacity to turn adversity into opportunity, and now we will show the world that we can apply that same determination and resiliency to the greatest existential crisis of our generation, the threat of irreversible climate change.
As we strive against COVID-19 today, so, too, must we continue to fight for the next generation of Canadians. Rarely in history is a nation called to face a challenge of such immense proportions. Rarely in history is the resiliency and the courage of the people tested in a way that will determine our future. Yet, I know we are committed to meeting our destiny with grace, strength, determination and resolve.
We can and we will get through this together, and we shall lead the world. Our collective destiny depends on it.