Canada
Lead Tracker - Joanna Dafoe
Joanna is an ebullient advocate for climate change leadership. From the plenary halls of the United Nations to the corridors of campus, she is committed to collective action on environmental issues (and contra-dancing on the weekend!).
Her interest in international climate policy started at COP11 in Montreal, Canada, and has continued through her involvement with the Canadian Youth Delegation to Bali and Copenhagen. Outside the UNFCCC, Joanna has been active in the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development where she attended the 2008 and 2009 sessions as an official youth representative.
In addition to international work, Joanna is also active in community and youth based projects. She was a founding member of both the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition and the University of Toronto Students Union Sustainability Commission. She served on the board of the Sierra Youth Coalition for three years, and spent the past summer working as the Canadian coordinator with 350.org. As the environmental justice correspondent of The Green Majority, Joanna has interviewed such luminaries in the climate movement as Gus Speth, Bill McKibben, and Majora Carter.
Joanna is finishing her BA degree in Peace and Conflict Studies and Environmental Policy from the University of Toronto. She has contributed her research on the UNFCCC process to the Yale/UNITAR conference on Environmental Governance and Democracy. Currently in Sweden on exchange at Lund University, Joanna is affirmed to see everyday citizens around the world hard at work for climate solutions.
Meet the Delegation
On March 25th the Candian Prime Minister announced that Michael Martin, Canada’s former lead negotiator to the UNFCCC, will be assigned to a new position as Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet. This means that Canada’s new head of Delegation is… currently uknown! David McGovern, the Assistant Deputy Minister at Environment Canada, is temporarily acting as Canada’s lead negotiator. More information will be posted here as soon as it becomes available.