Deputy Minister Stephen Lucas: Governing Minerals for Renewable Energy

Renewable energy is the best means of bringing global emissions within the required 1.5 degrees limit. While this is an imperative technical response to climate change, the full cost of renewables needs investigation. Specifically, the value chains of minerals used to produce renewable energy remains hidden. Join us for a keynote presentation from Dr. Stephen Lucas, Deputy Minister, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Government of Canada followed by a discussion with Ms. Julie Gelfand, Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Office of the Auditor General of Canada on the governance of the mineral supply chain for renewable energy.

About the Speakers:

Dr. Stephen Lucas was appointed Deputy Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) on January 23, 2017. As Senior Associate Deputy Minister (Climate Change) from June 2016 to January 2017, Dr. Lucas led ECCC activities in support of the development and adoption of the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change. Before joining ECCC, Dr. Lucas was Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet for Plans and Consultations and Intergovernmental Affairs at the Privy Council Office. From 2013 to 2014, he was Assistant Secretary, Economic and Regional Development Policy, at the Privy Council Office. As Assistant Deputy Minister, Science and Policy Integration at Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) from 2009 to 2013, he was responsible for strategic policy development related to energy, mineral and forest resources, climate change and clean energy and international and intergovernmental relations. Prior to that, from 2007 to 2009, he was Assistant Deputy Minister, Minerals and Metals Sector, at NRCan, where he provided leadership on innovation, green mining and corporate social responsibility. Dr. Lucas started his career as a research scientist at the Geological Survey of Canada in 1988. He has a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Geological Engineering from Queen’s University and a Ph.D. in structural geology and tectonics from Brown University.

Ms. Julie Gelfand was appointed as Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development in March 2014. Before joining the Office of the Auditor General, Ms. Gelfand held the positions of Chief Advisor at Rio Tinto Canada and of Vice-President of Environment and Social Responsibility at the Rio Tinto Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC). Prior to joining IOC, Ms. Gelfand was Vice-President, Sustainable Development at the Mining Association of Canada and co-chair of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Centre of Excellence, under the federal CSR Strategy for the Canadian International Extractive Sector. From 1992 to 2008, she served as President of Nature Canada. She also founded and chaired the Green Budget Coalition.