In a wide-ranging Q&A, Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi discusses the energy transition, the Liberals investment in the green economy, and the impact of joining the International Renewable Energy Agency.

Improving our climate resilience would likely mean we will spend less on disaster response because it would help us anticipate shocks, mitigate the damages and help us bounce back from them faster.

Do your homework before rushing to the microphones to announce new policies, writes Leslie Shiell.

Without a realistic plan for going forward, it is inappropriate to impose regulations, taxes and other government measures that could undermine the existing Canadian model in favour of a green economy plan that lacks focus, details, and a realistic hope of sustaining jobs, livelihoods, opportunities, and one of the world’s most enviable standards of living.

Wise public policy dictates that we tax forest carbon emissions where appropriate and then reinvest those funds in restoring our forests, which in Canada are almost entirely publicly owned.The current climate crisis provides all the justification Canada needs to do so.

Our federal and provincial governments should take the lead in adopting a consumption-based accounting approach as an alternative—or secondary—way to measure greenhouse gas emissions. Canada should also encourage other nations to do the same, in an effort to truly reduce global emissions rather than just shifting among jurisdictions.

By using more wood in construction, we can take carbon out of the atmosphere and store it in buildings. It is estimated that a cubic metre of wood removes one tonne of carbon from the atmosphere.

Getting to a green economy may not be easy. But it absolutely requires shutting down the fossil fuel economy, building equity, and embracing a better future.