Low carbon resilience is Canada’s safe green path in a changing climate
As providers of traditional and new energy resources and residents of a large country with complex energy and infrastructure needs, Canadians face unique pressure to plan strategically for the coming decades as we work to reduce emissions in a changing climate. Canada is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world and will […]
Canada needs to lead an international effort to reduce fossil fuel production
Teck’s cancellation of its $20-billion Frontier project in February clearly exposed Canada’s contradictory position as a climate champion and major fossil fuel exporter. Having regained its credibility with the Paris Agreement, it is still seeking to grow its fossil fuel industry. Between now and 2040, the National Energy Board expects to see oil production grow […]
Don’t oversimplify conversations about how we power our lives
Canada is gripped by debates about energy. Loud voices are trying to prescribe or condemn a societal energy transition based on selected facts and examples. Unfortunately, many of the conversations are incomplete. The economic importance of oil and gas—“hydrocarbon energy”—has often been pitted against the vital environmental necessity of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Both points […]
Resolving the oilsands conundrum
An answer to the conundrum of oil sands development lies right beneath the feet. By turning the innovative capacity of Alberta’s oil and gas sector on its head—extraction of heat from the ground rather than carbon—geothermal energy is a cost-effective option ready for advancement on a large scale. It is an abundant resource, widely available […]
O’Regan putting nuclear ‘front and centre’ raises eyebrows, industry hopes
Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan’s recent declaration that the federal government is “placing nuclear energy front and centre” came as a surprise, according to some nuclear experts and industry stakeholders, but has left some excited about the prospect of more federal support. “I’m surprised at that language,” said NDP MP Richard Cannings (South Okanagan–West Kootenay, […]
Energy
Reconciliation is wearing Eau de Colonialism 2020
OTTAWA—Do you hear that? It’s the sound of reconciliation buckling under the oppressive weight of white supremacy. Ostensibly, Canada was founded on the principles of “peace, order, and good government,” and apart from missing the necessary aspirational quality expected in the birth of a nation, the list of principles is missing one defining feature: white […]
Combatting climate change through better IP policy
Much of the conversation in 2019 in politics regarding climate change revolved around carbon pricing and its effectiveness on combatting the realistic threat that Canada and the world faces from rising temperatures. This, coupled with the conversations on Trans Mountain pipeline, unfortunately took most of the oxygen away from conversations about how to spark growth […]
Trudeau must achieve Canada’s emission targets, even at expense of oilsands industry
TORONTO—Can the oilsands industry reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in line with Canada’s climate change commitments while also remaining competitive in a decarbonizing global economy? This is the question asked in a new report on Alberta’s oilsands industry by one of the country’s most respected think tanks on energy and the environment. It’s possible, the […]
Canada may be facing its biggest test in a generation
OTTAWA—This month will likely be remembered as the defining moment of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s tenure. It’s hardly worth mentioning the irony of the fact the national crisis over the Coastal GasLink pipeline blew up while the prime minister was in Africa and Europe trying to enhance his and Canada’s leadership globally. Or that, as […]
