Canada’s Clean Economy
and Green Stimulus
These building rules could be a big part of our climate solution
You’ve probably never even heard of two of Canada’s more effective provincial and city-scale climate policies—and that’s probably not a bad thing.
The BC Energy Step Code and the City of Vancouver’s Zero Emissions Building Plan are both building regulations introduced within the past two years or so by the Province of British Columbia and the City of Vancouver, respectively.
White Pines demolition mourned as Ford dismantles green energy in Ontario
The crane has been on-site at the White Pines Wind Farm in picturesque Prince Edward County for more than a week now, and on Tuesday, local landowners and other supporters of the axed project decided it was time to say goodbye.
The first of nine turbines on the site was due to be dismantled and removed, marking the start of a decommissioning expected to take at least three years, so supporters of the project gathered to give speeches and commiserate its demise.
Why Quebec leads in clean tech — so far
n a hangar-like space an hour from Montreal, workers in safety glasses carefully jockey huge aluminum arches into rows, like ribs, before switching on a whining drill to screw them into place.
The object takes shape — one of the world’s most recognizable shapes, a yellow school bus.
But that’s the only thing familiar about this bus. It’s all-electric, a wild pipe dream until just three years ago, when the first three like it hit the roads.
‘I don’t want to fight them. I want to fight climate change’: McKenna
Two days into her job as a rookie environment minister, Catherine McKenna was sent to Paris for the United Nations climate summit, not knowing what “COP21” — the official phrasing for the 2015 meeting — stood for.
She remembers the momentum: the gathering of countries, the urgency, the ambition, the instruction to work closely with Barack Obama’s U.S. administration, the stunned applause when she stood at the podium and said that “Canada is here to help.”
How are Canada's agriculture ministers fighting climate change?
There's a finite amount of land on this fast-warming planet that a rapidly growing population will need to use wisely to produce enough food and fuel for every single person.
The world is not doing that right now, a new 1,400-page special report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) finds, urging countries to rethink the way they use and manage their land.
Vancouver company's green generators are pumping clean power into the film industry
t’s the end of a long day in the midst of a busy clean-energy conference and Mark Rabin is still bursting with energy — after all, energy and power generation are his business, and his efforts have brought renewable energy to the set of the latest James Bond film.
What the heck is the circular economy?
Infinited Fiber Company’s fabric feels similar to denim, although it is perhaps a little smoother, is cheaper to produce and will likely last longer. But the most interesting part is what it’s made out of: dried and discarded husks from agriculture, recycled and reconstituted cardboard and old clothes.
The biotech company, a spinoff of the state-owned VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, is one among many concrete examples of what’s known as the circular economy. It’s a mainstream term in Europe, but it doesn’t yet exist in the Canadian lexicon.
Canada becomes first country to sign pledge for zero emission commercial vehicles
Canada has become the first country to sign on to the Drive to Zero Pledge, an international initiative aimed at increasing the number of zero and low emission vehicles in the medium- and heavy-duty transportation sector.
By signing the pledge, Canada is joining other partners, including municipal governments, in committing to eliminate barriers and implement mechanisms that accelerate the viability and growth of zero emission technology for these commercial vehicles.
Made-in-Canada version of Bill Gates-led clean energy fund launches
Canada is helping to fund a new initiative connected with a group of wealthy donors like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos to help startups finance new energy technologies that can lower carbon pollution.
Breakthrough Energy Solutions Canada is expected to be a “public-private” initiative orchestrated out of Natural Resources Canada, and will involve annual pitch events where entrepreneurs can perform for investors, Dragons' Den-style.
New York City's Green New Deal is music to Quebec's ears
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's Green New Deal is music to the ears of Quebec Premier François Legault.
Under de Blasio’s plan to tackle climate change, unveiled Monday, all city operations would run on 100 per cent “zero-emission Canadian hydropower” within five years. Negotiations would begin “right away” with the aim of signing a deal by the end of 2020.
Many Canadian transit agencies are missing made-in-Canada electric buses, says new report
Canada is home to leading-edge electric bus manufacturing companies, but a report released Thursday by the Vancouver-based think tank Clean Energy Canada says that the country's transit agencies are not buying and using the cleaner buses as fast as their counterparts in other countries.
“The conversation’s really just starting in Canada,” said Merran Smith, Clean Energy Canada’s executive director.
“We’ve got four buses in Vancouver, two in Victoria, 10 in Toronto,” Smith said. “Our leader is Montreal with 36 buses ... Overall, Canada’s approach is very cautious and there isn’t a good reason for it (to be cautious).”
Trudeau-appointed task force proposes solutions to address fear, anxiety and mistrust among coal workers
There is mistrust and suspicion of government intentions. There are fears about devastating impacts to communities. There's anxiety over whether officials can deliver on promises. And there's frustration with being disparaged as dirty.
These are some of the stark assessments from the thousands of workers in coal mines and coal-fired power plants across Canada that were captured by 11 experts appointed by the government almost a year ago.
The special task force was launched by Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna on April 25, 2018 to investigate how to fairly provide for these workers as their livelihoods are taken offline over the next decade.
Alberta creeps closer to 2030 renewable energy target
Alberta's NDP government is planning a new auction for renewable energy capacity that is aiming to move it closer to its 2030 target of getting 30 per cent of its electricity supply from wind, solar and other green sources.
The government announced plans on Tuesday to add another 400 megawatts of renewable electricity capacity to its energy mix by way of an auction that mandates that the winning project or projects benefit Indigenous communities.
The auction will be the fourth auction of renewable electricity capacity as the oil-rich province creeps closer to its 2030 target, the government said in a statement. Currently about 10 per cent of Alberta’s electricity generation comes from renewable sources, the statement added.
Alberta's NDP government says emissions reductions prove carbon pricing works
Alberta's NDP government says that sharp reductions in pollution from electricity production in the oil-rich province over the past two years prove that carbon pricing is effective.
The new numbers are based on the data that the government collects from the electricity-generating facilities themselves and was made available on request to National Observer.
Construction of major electricity line from Quebec to New York City expected to start in 2020
The developers of a long-delayed electricity transmission project to transport hydroelectric power from Quebec to the New York City metropolitan area say that construction will start in 2020.
Ride-sharing giants join cities to drive global green transition
Fifteen transport companies, among them Uber and Lyft, pledge to lead the transition toward a zero-emission future and sustainable cities through more collaboration with local governments.
Trade minister wants clean tech firms to start 'bragging about Canada
Canada's trade minister is urging the nation's clean tech firms to be "un-Canadian" and start bragging.
With more than 800 clean tech companies across the country, experts say Canada has a smorgasbord of green solutions to offer, but struggles to make its products known amidst the din of market heavyweights like the United States, India and China.