Reversing the trend for Canadian energy
Canada’s energy sector has gone through substantive change over the past decade, but progress towards two important goals—sustainable energy solutions and greater energy efficiency—remains elusive. Primary energy sources in Canada remain dominated by natural gas (39 per cent of the energy mix in 2020) and oil (37 per cent of total energy). With only 0.5 […]
The net-zero transition includes oil and gas
Meeting Canada’s commitment to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 will require fundamental changes to many sectors of our economy, including transportation, manufacturing, and power generation. The sector most affected by this commitment, however, is likely Canada’s oil and gas industry. For some, Canada’s commitment to net zero means there is no future for oil and […]
Municipalities have tools to influence positive environmental action
Canada has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 and achieving net-zero GHG emissions by 2050. As a nation, we have started to get serious about putting the needed policies in place. There is now a broader educated understanding of “the why”—and more […]
The new climate denialism
Over the years, the language of climate denialism has changed. First, those funded by the oil and gas industry gave some half-baked ideas about how the climate wasn’t actually changing. Then they explained, yes, the climate is changing, but it always has. Then, that humans weren’t causing it. Thankfully, these versions of denial are behind us. Sadly, […]
Renewable energy transition is possible now in Canada
We already are seeing the impacts of climate change here in Canada, where communities are increasingly exposed to drought, heat domes, and flooding from atmospheric rivers. And it’s going to get worse—the planet will keep warming until we stop adding carbon emissions to the atmosphere. Canada has managed to hold carbon emissions steady since 2005, but […]
Decolonization is at the heart of effective climate action
Let’s face it, the environmental movement has always centred white voices. When you think of a climate activist, who do you envision? Would it surprise you that millions of people engaged in greenhouse gas mitigation and adaptation live in African nations? And that many of them are women? Black History Month spotlights the legacy of […]
Regional concerns must inform ‘just transition’ legislation, say experts, as Wilkinson acknowledges energy worker anxiety
As the federal government embarks on a whole-of-government approach to climate action, with all eyes on the introduction of long-awaited “just transition” legislation to help particularly vulnerable workers adapt and retrain for the green energy economy, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson recently acknowledged the “anxiety that workers in some industries feel about the energy transition.” […]
Aligning finances to the new climate reality: fix finance, fix the climate
Our way of life has pushed the current system to its limits. The global demand for material resources is expected to double by 2060, causing environmental damage, an increase in greenhouse gas emissions and an increase in the production of waste and associated pollution. Our current linear extractive economy was not designed to include the […]
Nova Scotia Senator Bernard receives Bob Marley Day award
PSG Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard, the first African Nova Scotian woman named to the Senate, is one of eight recipients of this year’s Bob Marley Day award. The awards are given every Feb. 6 as part of the City of Toronto’s annual proclamation marking the birthday of the iconic Jamaican musician and human rights advocate. Marley, […]
New openness to decolonization also needed in Inuit climate-health research
Shortly after the new year, a major press conference was held in Ottawa to announce a $40-billion settlement over the systemic underfunding of child welfare services to Indigenous children. It struck me as critical that this settlement had finally been made, but also vital was the tone in which Indigenous Crown Relations Minister Marc Miller, and […]
