Matthew Bramley, colleague, advocate, and good friend to many, passed away on Saturday, September 24.
Matthew worked for the Pembina Institute for 13 years, beginning in 1999. He was Pembina’s Director of Climate Change from 2001 to 2011.
In the last few years, between rounds of cancer treatment, Matthew was strong and able to do a lot of travelling and volunteer work. He helped Pembina last fall when we were drafting an oil and gas cap position statement, and I had a chance to have coffee to review a draft with him in Ottawa. It was just like old times. I am grateful I had one more chance to hang out with him and noodle away for an hour trying to solve another ridiculously hard but fun policy riddle.
Matthew was brilliant. His research and analyses were impeccable. He created the foundational reports that Pembina continued to rely on to inform our core climate policy positions for years beyond his tenure with us. Matthew played an outsized role in establishing Pembina’s credibility on climate change.
He was Canada’s top climate policy advocate. The media turned to Matthew and his team for a comment on almost every climate related story for many years. He earned the trust and respect of the Liberal government. When that government made its first serious attempt to tackle climate change, Matthew was regularly called upon to provide advice.
It is impossible to summarize his huge contributions to Pembina and to Canada. Those of us who worked with Matthew will never forget his generous approach to life, the infectious excitement he brought with him to work, and his tremendous commitment to protecting the world. Our hearts are with his family.
