Dr. Kelly Vodden, associate vice-president (Grenfell Campus) Research and Graduate Studies, has been appointed by the minister of Environment and Climate Change to the membership of the “Net-Zero Advisory Council.”

“Urgent effort is needed to meet our 2030 and 2050 greenhouse gas emission reduction targets,” said the Honourable Bernard Davis. “Therefore, I am pleased to announce that the Provincial Government has established the Net-Zero Advisory Council. I thank this eight-member council for the work it will do to help identify and review near term and foundational actions our government and others can take to set Newfoundland and Labrador on a strong path to achieve its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.”

The council will focus on providing advice to the provincial government on how to achieve the 2030 and net-zero targets.

In addition to Dr. Vodden, who is a research professor with Memorial’s Environmental Policy Institute (EPI) and lead of the Rural Resilience Research Group, the other members include Kieran Hanley (Chairperson), Carolann Harding (Vice Chairperson), former Grenfell EPI professor Dr. Angela Carter, Caron Hawco, Dr. Nick Mercer (graduate of Grenfell’s MA in environmental policy), Jonas Roberts, and George Russell Jr.

The council will focus on identifying near term and foundational actions the government and others can take to set the province on a strong path to achieve net-zero that would grow the green economy, while considering a just transition and affordability. The council will also advise on global trends to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the importance and use of carbon sinks.

Biographies of the members of the Net-Zero Advisory Council, and the original news release, are available here.