True North, Strong and Carbon-Free: Canada’s Leadership in Carbon Removal

Date:	Friday, November 15
Time (AZT):	12:00 PM

Event Summary:

There is no net-zero without carbon removal, prompting Canada to modernize regulations, invest significantly, and create incentives to ignite a thriving carbon removal sector. Innovative companies are emerging, leveraging Canada’s natural advantages: long coastlines, geological sequestration potential, and agricultural land. This panel will showcase private and public sector progress advancing carbon removal, outlining a vision for the sector’s future. Building on successes from Deep Sky, Carbon Engineering, and others, the session will explore how investment tax credits, procurement programs, and R&D funding can accelerate investment in carbon removal technologies and infrastructure.

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Presenter(s):

Na'im Merchant

Na'im Merchant is the Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada. He previously founded Carbon Curve, a consulting practice focused on equitably scaling up carbon removal. Na'im is an advisor to Terraset and the Carbon Removal Standards Initiative, and was previously an Elemental Impact Policy Fellow.

Jason Vanderheyden

Jason Vanderheyden is Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy at Deep Sky, Canada's carbon removal project developer. Jason has more than 15 years of experience in government affairs, public policy development, business development and strategic partnerships. An expert navigating complex policy issues, he has worked with hyper-growth startups, Becton Dickinson, Medtronic, General Electric and Toyota Canada.

Benoit Charette

Benoit Charette has been a deputy of the Quebec National Assembly since 2008, and Minister of the Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change since 2019. In 2022, the protection of the wildlife and the development of Parks were added to its responsibilities.

Hon. Rebecca Schulz

Rebecca Schulz was sworn in as Minister of Environment and Protected Areas on June 9, 2023, previously serving as Minister of Municipal Affairs and Minister of Children’s Services. She advocates for common-sense policies that will grow Alberta's economy, protect our beautiful landscapes, and encourage investment and innovation in Alberta.

David Frank

David Frank joined Microsoft in February 2017. Having started his career in the UK civil service, David spent almost a decade working on a range of policy issues and spent three years on the fast stream. After leaving the civil service in 2010 David joined the mobile network operator EE as Senior Public Affairs Manager, before spells at Ofcom and Nominet. David joined Microsoft UK’s public policy team in 2017 and worked on AI, Competition Data, and Sustainability public policy issues. In 2022 David moved to Microsoft’s global Environmental Sustainability policy team as Director of Policy Engagement and works on carbon accounting, carbon removals and the company’s sustainability public policy presence at international events including the Biodiversity COP and the Climate Change COP. A graduate of Queen Mary College, University of London, David lives in West London with his wife and two daughters, is a keen skier and runner.