My thanks to Carbon to Sea for the invitation to share a few words with you today.
This conference sits at the intersection of climate ambition, competitiveness, innovation and ocean science.
I have had the honour of serving as Canada’s Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and, most recently, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, following almost 20 years as a CEO and senior leader in the clean technology sector.
So, I hope to offer a few thoughts that may be useful.
In the next few minutes, I want to speak about:
We meet at a challenging time for Canada and for the world.
Successfully navigating this period will require thoughtful, well-considered choices.
Canada faced serious economic challenges even before recent tensions with our neighbour. These include weak productivity growth, aging demographics and a continued heavy reliance on the production and export of raw natural resources.
Conventional fuels have contributed enormously to our prosperity, but as the world moves to reduce carbon emissions and avoid the worst impacts of climate change - and as important parts of the world increasingly move to reduce energy security risks that come from dependence of fossil fuel imports – these products will no longer drive Canadian economic growth to the same extent.
With respect to oil, demand in the developed world peaked several years ago, and global demand overall is expected to peak later this decade.
At the same time, President Trump’s tariffs, including against key Canadian sectors, have worsened existing challenges and are forcing structural change in the Canadian economy.
These pressures demand that Canada build a more competitive, productive and resilient economy - one where Canadians produce and consume more Canadian products, and where we diversify our export markets so that we are less dependent on the US.
On the environmental side, climate change is not going away. It is a scientific reality with increasingly significant economic and human impacts every year.
CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere recently recorded the largest annual jump on record, reaching levels not seen in human civilization and driving more frequent and severe extreme weather.
Climate change and its impacts are a matter of science, not politics. But how we choose to respond remain fundamentally political decisions.
These challenges are real and significant. But there are indeed strong reasons for optimism.
Canada needs to invest in projects and infrastructure that enable us to produce and consume more Canadian products here at home - breaking down internal barriers to trade and choosing Canadian where we can.
It also means strengthening our ability to export efficiently to markets beyond the United States.
And it means being clear about the sectors in which Canada can succeed at scale. That is where a focus on low-carbon products and technologies - on “carbon competitiveness,” comes in.
Addressing climate change and building a strong future economy are, in my view, entirely complementary goals.
Looking at actual global trends rather than rhetoric, it is clear that the world is moving toward a lower-carbon future and that many countries, China in particular, have explicit economic strategies to accelerate the energy transition.
Progress is indeed being made, albeit more slowly than science suggests we need. Growth in energy-related CO2 emissions is continuing to decouple from global economic growth.
CO2 emissions in advanced economies fell by 1.1% in 2024 to 10.9 billion tonnes – a level last seen 50 years ago - even though their cumulative GDP is now three times larger.
Increasingly progress on climate is being driven not simply by government policy but by technology.
Simply put, many low carbon energy technologies are now cheaper - and often just better than conventional alternatives.
Solar and wind are now, in many regions, the lowest-cost sources of new electricity, and costs continue to fall. Chinese solar panel and wind turbine prices, for example, are down 60% and 50% respectively since 2022.
The same is true of heat pumps, which provide efficient heating and increasingly needed cooling. It may surprise you to know that in the US, heat pumps outsold natural gas furnaces last year by about 30%.
Electric vehicles tell a similar story. In China, EV’s are being manufactured for less than internal combustion vehicles, their lifetime cost of ownership is significantly lower – and they are simply more enjoyable to drive.
Capital flows reflect this competitiveness. Of the roughly 3.3 trillion dollars in projected 2025 capital investment in the energy sector, about 2.2 trillion is expected to go to renewables, nuclear, grids, storage, low emissions fuels, efficiency and electrification – roughly twice as much as the 1.1 trillion going to oil, natural gas and coal.
Addressing the climate challenge requires an economy-wide approach that tackles the lowest-cost, technology-ready emissions first.
It also requires governments to identify areas where further technology development, refinement or cost optimization is needed before solutions can work environmentally and economically.
Where effective, affordable commercial technologies already exist – such as heat pumps or EVs - government’s role is largely to accelerate deployment.
But in nascent areas - where science and environmental impacts are not fully understood, where regulation is incomplete, or where further testing and demonstration are needed – government has a significant role to play.
Carbon removal technologies are one such area.
Everyone in this room understands that carbon removal technologies must be part of any credible pathway to effectively address climate change.
But carbon dioxide removal must be a compliment to, not a substitute for, deep emissions reductions across all sectors.
Carbon removal will be essential to address residual emissions in sectors where no viable reduction technology exists, or where solutions are prohibitively expensive or logistically challenging.
They will also be needed if the world overshoots CO2 levels consistent with limiting temperature rise to manageable levels, which the IPCC increasingly views as likely.
Carbon Dioxide Removal includes approaches such as direct air capture, carbon mineralization, BECCS, reforestation and wetland rehabilitation, soil carbon sequestration, and ocean alkalinity enhancement, along with other marine-based approaches.
Several of these approaches are promising, but all face economic and environmental questions.
Any carbon removal pathway must credibly answer a few core questions:
To these, I would add a fifth question: can it be measured, reported and verified with a level of confidence that will stand up to scientific, public and investor scrutiny?
That is why early work in this space must focus not only on the technology itself, but on measurement, reporting and verification - or MRV - and on public-interest science and governance.
Turning to the subject of this conference, ocean alkalinity enhancement, or OAE, there are compelling reasons for Canada and the world to pursue further research and development:
Many, including the US National Academies, have identified OAE as an important potential solution.
A friend of mine who has played a leading role in the development of direct air capture and in the broader discussion around these emerging climate technologies recently suggested to me that there is a good chance that OAE could be one of the few carbon-removal pathways that are very large scale, relatively low impact and cost-competitive.
However, important questions remain before governments, citizens and investors can have confidence in its efficacy and long-term impacts.
And this is where Canada has an important role to play. Not because we should rush to conclude that OAE will become a major commercial solution, but because Canada has the scientific institutions, regulatory culture, ocean expertise and ongoing project activity required to determine credibly whether, where and under what conditions OAE deserves a place in a future climate toolkit.
That is a research challenge. It is an MRV challenge. It is a governance challenge. And, if the answers prove favourable over time, it may also become a significant commercialization opportunity. But those things need to proceed in the right sequence.
Public trust and social license will matter enormously. Indigenous communities, coastal communities, fishers and the broader public will need to see that this work is being undertaken cautiously, transparently and with appropriate safeguards.
In the context of OAE, Canada is well placed to be an important enabler of this field:
We also have, particularly in Atlantic Canada, an emerging ecosystem in which philanthropy, startups, universities, public institutions and governments are beginning to engage seriously with marine carbon removal. That ecosystem is not yet mature, but it is real, and if Canada is thoughtful, it can become globally relevant.
OAE represents a potentially important additional tool in the fight against climate change, domestically and internationally.
It also offers potential economic opportunity for Canada if we choose to lead. Studies suggest that marine CDR could generate significant economic benefits, including jobs, GDP growth and exportable expertise.
If a technology can be shown to be safe, effective, measurable and scalable, we should want to see private capital and entrepreneurs at the table to help move it into the market.
But to get there credibly, the emphasis now has to be on research, demonstration, MRV and governance. If those foundations are weak, commercial ambition will not be durable. If they are strong, commercialization can proceed in ways that build confidence rather than undermining it.
For Canada to play a meaningful role in assessing, demonstrating and potentially commercializing OAE will require close collaboration between those in this room and governments.
To move this conversation forward at pace, the federal government will need to:
In my view, one of the most practical early steps the federal government could take would be to establish a multi-departmental task force focused on marine carbon dioxide removal.
This file does not sit neatly in one place. It spans DFO, ECCC, NRCan, Justice, Global Affairs and, in some cases, central agencies and provinces. Without a formal mechanism to align these institutions, decision-making will remain fragmented and uncertain.
Success will require cooperation across departments and with relevant provincial governments.
Within the federal system, DFO is critical for assessing impacts and regulatory matters, ECCC for emissions and environmental oversight, and NRCan for technology enablement and commercialization.
The Senate Fisheries Committee and Carbon to Sea have both proposed such a multi-departmental task force.
And while a task force would be an important early step, as someone who has led all three of the most relevant departments, I would tell you that what you really need if you want rapid progress is a specific champion who will push.
That champion does not need to presuppose that OAE is the answer. What you need is someone who understands how technologies evolve, how governments manage risk, and how to move a file from “interesting but uncertain” to “serious and structured.”
My advice to you is to engage, engage - often and starting now. Find voices within the federal system who understand technology evolution and others who recognize the potential environmental and economic value of these solutions.
Bring them in as observers and as partners. Show how the work you are doing here can contribute to climate and economic goals.
Success in this field will depend on more than scientific promise or government & investor interest. It will depend on whether the work can withstand serious scrutiny, and earn confidence from Indigenous communities, coastal residents, fishers, regulators and the broader public.
Canada can play a leadership role in catalyzing international conversation and action. But getting Canada fully on board will, in large part, depend on you.
Let me close by returning to the supposed choice between the economy and the environment – a choice that, in my view, is a false dichotomy.
Yes, we face difficult economic and environmental challenges. Yes, we need to build a stronger Canada. But doing so requires that we address climate change clearly and boldly.
I entered politics largely because of climate change, after nearly two decades leading companies focused on addressing it in ways that also create economic opportunity.
I remain personally committed to fighting climate change because of the threat it poses to the world we will leave our children.
But we cannot and should not rely on fear alone to build support for climate action.
If we want to bring the vast majority of people with us, we must also be clear about the enormous economic opportunities that exist if we thoughtfully and strategically redouble our efforts.
We should also recognize that leadership is most compelling, most powerful, when it looks to push the boundaries of human knowledge and experience. Canadians have been reminded of this recently through Jeremy Hansen’s role in the Artemis II mission.
Space exploration captures our imagination because it reflects courage, scientific excellence and a willingness to venture into the unknown in service of a common global purpose.
The challenge of climate change demands that same spirit. There is only one planet - and we have a shared responsibility to advance knowledge carefully, credibly and with humility – but also with ambition.
Marine carbon removal, and ocean alkalinity enhancement in particular, may or may not ultimately prove to be one of the more important tools available to us. But we will not answer that question by standing still. We will answer it by doing the science, building the governance, establishing the MRV, engaging the public honestly and then making evidence-based decisions.
That, in my view, is the opportunity before Canada. Not to rush. Not to posture. But to lead – and to lead responsibly.
The opportunity is there. We simply need the foresight and the courage to seize it.
© 2026 Jonathan Wilkinson