Event Highlights and Expo Venue

Event Highlights

Methane Expo 2013 drew over 450 attendees representing 44 countries from around the world, including delegates from GMI’s Partner governments, representatives from the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and academia. Thank you to Canada, this year’s host, and all the supporters and exhibitors who contributed their time and resources to make this year’s Expo a success.

La Farfana wastewater treatment plant, Santiago, Chile.
Photo by Bayne Stanley/Courtesy of Environment Canada
"We are here together for one simple reason and that is that methane matters. It matters in our fight against global warming, in the quality of our air, water cycle, and crop yields. And it matters to our health." - The Honourable Peter Kent, Minister of the Environment of Canada, Methane Expo 2013 keynote speech

The Expo agenda included high-level plenary sessions headlined by Canada’s Environment Minister, the Honourable Peter Kent; Acting GMI Steering Committee Chair Ms. Janet McCabe, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and British Columbia’s Minister of Environment, the Honourable Terry Lake.

Other Expo highlights included programming from all five subcommittees, and more than 90 project opportunities and success story posters that showcased the real, on the ground accomplishments of GMI. Peppered though the municipal solid waste (MSW) posters were photos from Tim Bouldry, who captures images of people living nearby landfills. Another popular session was on international methane financing with speakers from the International Development Bank, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and SENES Consulting.

A well-attended municipal leaders’ forum with representatives from Colombia, Canada and Sweden explored different ways to overcome common sustainability issues under municipal jurisdiction. Finally, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC) and the Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP) hosted side meetings.

The Steering group of the CCAC MSW initiative provided an opportunity for cities from around the world to come together to develop action plans to mitigate methane and black carbon from the municipal solid waste sector, and consider solutions like organics management and methane capture from landfills.

At the CCAP MSW event, representatives from Colombia, Chile and Dominican Republic presented the results of the development of integrated solid waste management Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA) supported by Canada through its $1.2 billion Fast-Start Financing commitment.

Expo Venue

expo photoVancouver Convention Center

Methane Expo 2013 was held at the Vancouver Convention Centre—one of the premiere conference centers in North America! The award-winning Vancouver Convention Centre is a green-designed, state-of- the-art facility* on the waterfront in beautiful downtown Vancouver, steps away from numerous hotels, restaurants, and shopping.

* The West building has received the Canada Green Building Council LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification—the first convention centre in the world to earn the highest LEED® rating! Elements of its green design include a six-acre "living roof" that houses thousands of indigenous plants and recovers rainwater for irrigation, as well as designation as a Powersmart Convention Centre by BC Hydro.