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LATEST NEWS ON THIS TOPIC

Global Push for Hydrogen Sidesteps Knowledge Gaps on Climate Impacts
As the global push for a hydrogen economy accelerates, researchers are urging policy-makers to address new knowledge and fill in some profound data gaps, with recent studies revealing the considerable global warming potential of a fuel that many fossils see as their industry’s best hope for a second life.

Trans Mountain Work Site Blocks Early Salmon Run on Coquihalla River, Local Observers Say
Campaigners and local residents are using photos, video, and drone footage to document a Trans Mountain pipeline work site they say is impeding an early salmon run and leaving dead fish along the Coquihalla River in British Columbia.

Focus Blame for Climate Change on Fossils and Governments, Ecoanalytics Advises
This month’s EcoA Tip highlights some useful data showing who Canadians tend to blame for climate change. The research comes from a national survey conducted by EcoAnalytics, a non-profit initiative that provides data, analysis, and guidance to strengthen Canada’s environmental movement.

Ontario Pension Giant May Be Getting the Memo on Fossil Divestment, Members Say
As the burning of fossil fuels presents us with yet another summer of catastrophic impacts, the pressure is growing for pension funds to either phase out their oil, gas, coal, and pipeline assets or explain how they’re aligned with a safe retirement future for their beneficiaries. And Canada’s seventh-largest fund, the C$121-billion Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (OMERS), may be getting the memo, three of its members write for Corporate Knights.

Stranded Communities Hope for Emergency Food Supplies as Newfoundland Wildfires Rage
The reopening of a Newfoundland highway that had been closed for days because of raging wildfires provided hope Tuesday that much-needed supplies would finally arrive in stranded communities along the island’s south coast.

Ontario Gains from U.S. EV Tax Credit, But Plans No Incentives for Local Drivers
Plans to expand the proposed U.S tax credit on electric vehicle purchases to cover North American-made cars are a boon for the auto sector, says Ontario’s economic development minister, but the province still isn’t planning any buyer incentives for local drivers.

Cape Breton’s Donkin Mine Pays No Penalty for Exceeding Provincial Emissions Cap
Two years after it closed, and as it contemplates reopening, the Donkin coal mine in Cape Breton is still exceeding Nova Scotia’s greenhouse gas emissions cap without incurring any penalty, as it has since it began operations five years ago.

Fossils Dismiss Federal Emissions Cap as ‘Aggressive’, ‘Unrealistic’
Canada’s biggest fossil companies are lining up to dismiss the federal government’s new emissions cap for their sector as “very aggressive” and “almost unrealistic”, even as Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault hastens to offer them flexibility and an extended deadline to hit the long-awaited target.

Canadians Share Stories of Fear, Vulnerability from 2021 Heat Dome
British Columbia and Alberta residents who endured last summer’s lethal heat dome say they feel fear, anger, and guilt in its aftermath, testifying to the urgent need for Canadians to take personal and political responsibility for climate change as extreme weather threatens the vulnerable.

Coastal GasLink Cost Skyrockets 70% to $11.2B
The projected cost of the contentious Coastal GasLink pipeline spanning northern British Columbia has skyrocketed 70% to C$11.2 billion in the wake of a freshly-inked deal between operator TC Energy Corporation and the group building a liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal on the West Coast.

High Carbon Capture Rates at U.S. Coal Plant a ‘Myth’, IEEFA Analysis Shows
A proposed carbon capture and storage (CCS) plant in the United States will capture far less than the 95% of carbon dioxide emissions its backers claim, concludes a new analysis released this week by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

Canadian Construction Giant Expects $800 Million in Solar Project Revenue
Alberta-based PCL Construction’s 2021 solar construction revenue increased 60% over the previous year, totalling more than half a billion dollars. By the end of 2022, the company expects solar revenue to hit just under $800 million.

Analysis: Lax Offshore Oil Regulation Puts Atlantic Canada Ecosystems, Communities at Risk
Offshore oil and gas activities in Atlantic Canada are a genuine threat to the ocean ecosystem and exacerbate climate change, but the federal government is falling short in its plans to regulate that activity, writes Mark Brooks, senior specialist, oil and gas at WWF-Canada, in a recent post on the WWF blog.

Canada Faces Pushback Over Proposed Fertilizer Emissions Cuts
A campaign of misinformation is working to undermine a 30% fertilizer emissions reduction target in Canada’s next Agriculture Policy Framework (APF), says a national farmers’ coalition, contending that recently announced emissions policies actually don’t go far enough.

Trudeau Announces $255M for Nova Scotia Wind, Battery Projects, Keeps LNG Option Open
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Nova Scotia last Thursday to promise green energy funds for the province, but he also said the idea of upgraded facilities to help ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe in the “very short term” is back on the table.

Canada Needs Firm 2030 Target for Aviation Emissions, Advocates Tell Ottawa [Sign-on]
With Canada lagging far behind Europe and the United Kingdom in tackling carbon pollution from aviation, the country’s upcoming 10-year climate plan for the sector must be developed with public input and enforce a 30% emissions reduction target by 2030, climate advocates say.

‘Watchful Optimism’ from Climate Analysts as Canada Energy Regulator Plots Net-Zero Future
With the Canada Energy Regulator still months away from completing its next projection of the country’s future oil and gas production, climate policy watchers are cautiously optimistic that the analysis will chart a real course for a low-carbon future—and rooting for the CER to get its modelling right.

Analysis: Media Reports Delay Climate Action by Missing the Story on Dutch Farmer Protests
When Dutch lawmakers proposed measures to reduce climate-busting nitrogen emissions in agriculture, nearly 40,000 livestock farmers took to the streets. But multiple news reports got the story wrong in ways that amplify myths and delay climate action, and the same problem has been playing out in Canada.

BREAKING: Vancouver Votes to Fund Lawsuit Against Big Oil
Vancouver City Council voted 6-5 late Wednesday afternoon to help fund a class action lawsuit to hold the world’s biggest fossil companies responsible for their local climate impacts, in what West Coast Environmental Law (WCEL) is hailing as a “historic win”.

‘Devil in the Details’ as Ottawa Releases Options for Oil and Gas Emissions Cap
An initial proposal for an oil and gas emissions cap that is a cornerstone of Canada’s 2030 climate strategy is generating glimmers of hope but early skepticism on all sides, after Environment and Climate Minister Steven Guilbeault opened public consultations on the plan earlier this week.

Falling Oil Reserves Are ‘Good News’ for Environment, ‘Major Blow’ to Energy Security
Global reserves of oil available for extraction showed a “sizable drop” of 9% last year, in what an analyst at Rystad Energy is calling “good news for the environment” that could still “deal a major blow to energy security”.

Firefighters Lose Ground Against Wildfire Threatening Lytton, B.C.
Firefighting crews lost ground Sunday after successfully holding back a blaze threatening the village of Lytton in southern British Columbia—barely one year after it was burned to the ground by a raging wildfire that took two lives and displaced hundreds of residents.

Carbon Roadmap for Agriculture May Face Uphill Fight at Federal-Provincial Ministers’ Meeting
A detailed carbon reduction roadmap for agriculture will have to compete with a menu of other farm sector priorities at a high-level meeting in Saskatoon this week, as federal, provincial, and territorial ministers hash out the details of Canada’s next Agriculture Policy Framework (APF).

Newfoundland Wind Farm Would Power Coastal Green Hydrogen Plant
An environmental assessment for a one-gigawatt, 164-turbine wind farm/green hydrogen and ammonia park in rural Newfoundland is generating local concern about potential habitat impacts, while picking up some high-powered support for the community benefits the project would bring.

Europe’s Fast Pivot to Renewables Means No Long-Term Need for LNG
The European Union’s need for natural gas will peak in about three years and begin declining before any new, fixed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals can be brought online, and EU countries are deliberately trying to avoid the kind of long-term supply contracts that Canadian gas producers are looking for, a UK-based fossil fuel specialist says.

Oil’s Decline Endangers Jobs Far Beyond Alberta’s Fossil Sector, New Study Finds
Changes in global oil prices and markets will continue to destabilize jobs in Alberta, and declining oil demand due to the shift off carbon will have job impacts far beyond the province’s fossil sector without the right mix of just transition policies, an Oxford University research team concludes in a paper published this morning in the journal Climate Policy.

Michigan Regulator Probes Safety Risks of Line 5 Pipeline Tunnel
A Michigan regulatory panel said Thursday it needs more information about safety risks before it can rule on Calgary-based Enbridge Energy’s plan to extend the Line 5 pipeline through a tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac. The state Public Service Commission voted 3-0 to seek further details about the potential for explosions and fires involving […]

Wildfires Torch Parts of Northern Canada Triggering Smoke, Evacuation Alerts
With extreme heat continuing to feed an increasing number of wildfires in northern Canada, Yukon authorities say some residents must prepare to evacuate within two hours of notification, while in the Northwest Territories a government with stretched resources has asked locals to do their part to prevent unnecessary fires.

Time Running Out, Canada Hanging Back on Emergency Plan to Avert $20B Oil Spill Disaster
With a disabled oil supertanker in the Red Sea likely just weeks or months away from breaking up or exploding, triggering a $20-billion ecological and humanitarian disaster, countries that could help pay for an emergency salvage plan are saying they can’t find the right budget codes to free up the funds.

Calgary Adopts Net-Zero Climate Strategy, Ottawa Endorses Fossil Non-Proliferation Treaty
Two of Canada’s most influential cities stepped up this week with serious action on the climate emergency, with Calgary adopting a new emissions reduction strategy that includes a 2050 net-zero target and Ottawa endorsing the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.

BREAKING: No Public Finance for East Coast LNG Projects, Wilkinson Says
There will be no federal financing for two companies vying to export Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe from terminals on the East Coast, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said in a recent interview with the Globe and Mail.

Conservative Women Far More Likely Than Men to Support Green Transition, EcoAnalytics Research Finds
The first of our EcoA Tips, a new monthly series in The Energy Mix,highlights a surprising bit of data from a major survey by EcoAnalytics, a non-profit market research initiative that uses data and analysis to strengthen Canada’s environmental movement.

Montreal to Host New NATO Climate Centre as Military Analyst Confronts Global ‘Hyperthreat’
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has confirmed Montreal as the headquarters for its new Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence, just weeks after a retired Australian military officer published an analysis of the “hyperthreat” humanity faces due to the global climate emergency.

Indoor Farming Revolution Comes with Significant Carbon Cost
Indoor farming could be a powerful solution for producing food in a volatile climate, but the benefits for the food system will come at the cost of a large carbon footprint as long as those new systems depend on natural gas for heat and power.

Southern Quebec Towns Scramble for Solutions as Water Sources Dwindle
As early spring heat, increasingly dry summers, and high demand for water drain rivers and aquifers, municipalities across southern Quebec are sounding the alarm on what they know will be a long-term problem they currently have neither the data nor the tax base to resolve.

Ex-Fossil Workers Convert Old Oilfields to Solar Farms After ‘Rapid Upskilling’ in Alberta
A group of 15 trainees will be heading out into the field to begin converting two Alberta oilfield sites into solar farms, after graduating from a rapid upskilling program for fossil industry and Indigenous workers hosted by Iron & Earth and Medicine Hat College.

G7 Miss ‘Golden Opportunity’, Walk Back Pledge to Cut International Fossil Finance
G7 leaders meeting in Bavaria this week affirmed their rhetorical commitment to climate action but walked back a month-old promise to swiftly end public investment in overseas fossil fuel projects as they sought to grapple with the energy crisis brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ottawa Demands Deeper Fuel Emissions Cuts, Offers Fossils a Double-Dip on Tax Breaks
The federal government is delaying new greenhouse gas emissions standards on gasoline and diesel by another year but will demand the oil and gas sector make bigger cuts to fuel emissions by 2030 given how much more money the companies are now making.

Comox Joins Municipalities Seeking Ban on New Gas Stations
Less than a year after Petaluma, California, became the first city in the world to ban new gas stations, four others have passed similar policies, and at least six more are working on it, including the infamously car-centric Los Angeles—and the British Columbia town of Comox.

Advocate Urges Ottawa to Intervene Before Ontario Builds Highway 413
Citing the Ontario government’s poor track record on endangered species protection, as well as the need to address First Nations’ concerns and respond to the imperatives of the climate crisis, Environmental Defence Canada is urging Ottawa to conduct a full environmental impact assessment of Highway 413.

Refocus Agriculture Spending to Cut Emissions, Boost Productivity, OECD Urges Governments
While global spending on agriculture has increased, critical support to help the sector build resilience and reduce emissions has decreased, an international agency concludes, even though effective policies are vital to avert a global disaster as food supplies are threatened by climate disasters and the war in Ukraine.

Public Vigilance Key to Protecting Greenbelts for Climate Resilience, Report Finds
Public vigilance will be vital to preserving the well-being of the world’s greenbelts, which are needed more than ever but increasingly under threat, says a new report produced by the Ontario-based Greenbelt Foundation.

Climate Solutions Deliver ‘Widespread Benefits’ Amid Global Crisis
Hydroponic farms in shipping containers and software poised to turn electric vehicle (EV) owners into well-paid electricity providers are among the ingenious innovations that are signs of a better world to come—despite all the evidence to the contrary, the Toronto Star reports.

Soaring Fertilizer Prices Could Deliver ‘Silver Lining’ for Emissions, But Farmers Struggle to Limit Use
The sudden rise in fertilizer prices since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could have implications for global emissions by reducing how much of it farmers use in their fields. But experts say there’s more to the picture, with non-monetary variables like human capital making a big impact on farming decisions.

North American Steel, Aluminium Giants Lumber Toward Green Transition
Canadian steel giant Dofasco and United States aluminium titan Alcoa are trying to “green” their notoriously polluting industries, as climate and public health concerns escalate. But with technology and energy gaps are complicating the effort.

Canadian Farmers Offer Ottawa a Roadmap to Cut Agriculture Emissions
With ministers meeting in one month to negotiate Canada’s next Agricultural Policy Framework (APF)—an agreement that will govern agriculture spending for the next five years—a farmer-led coalition has released a roadmap to boost adoption of climate-friendly farming practices from coast to coast.

Millions Face Famine as Climate Disasters, Ukraine War Slash Food Supplies
Nearly 750,000 people around the world are facing a food security “catastrophe,” and a further 49 million risk famine conditions in the coming months, as Russia’s war on Ukraine disrupts grain exports, compounding extreme food shortages caused by the climate-driven devastation of harvests in India.

Toronto’s New Backyard Homes Will Help Fight Sprawl
A late winter vote by Toronto’s city council permitting homeowners to build a small secondary residence in their backyards is being received as a positive step to loosen a very tight rental market and reduce the city’s carbon-intensive, resource-gobbling tendency towards “tall and sprawl.”

BREAKING: UN Nature Summit, the ‘Paris Conference for Biodiversity’, Moves to Montreal in December
Montreal will host a long-delayed United Nations nature summit December 5-17 that has been described as the Paris Conference for biodiversity, after Canada and China agreed to relocate the high-stakes negotiating session that was originally meant to take place in Kunming, China in October 2020.

Europe Outshines North America in New Sustainable Cities Ranking
When it comes to sustainable cities, Scandinavia is knocking it out of the park, according to the world’s first-ever crowdsourced urban sustainability index, with Stockholm scoring highest and Oslo, Copenhagen, and Lahti, Finland close behind on a list of 50 high- and middle-income cities.

Countries Pledge Faster Action on Methane, Cleantech, ZEV’s, Food Security at Biden Climate Forum
Countries accounting for about 80% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and economic output made new promises on methane controls, clean energy technology demonstrations, zero-emission vehicles, food security and agriculture emissions, and green shipping at a Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate convened by U.S. President Joe Biden June 17.

Lacklustre Policies in Ontario Force Ottawa to Lead on Climate: Winfield
With the Ford government situated firmly in office for a second term after an election that saw the lowest voter turnout in Ontario’s history, it’s likely that any future climate action will need to be led by the federal government, says Mark Winfield, a professor of environmental and urban change at York University, in a recent op ed.

Montreal to Turn Major Street Into Pedestrian-Friendly Linear Park
Determined to provide residents and visitors with “an experience of summer comfort in the city,” Montreal has closed two and a half kilometers of a major urban street to vehicle traffic for the summer, opening it up to pedestrians and filling it with art, entertainment, food, and lots of plant-filled spaces to sit.

‘LET’S SUE BIG OIL’: Legal Team Launches Class Action Campaign for B.C. Municipalities
An environmental law non-profit in Vancouver is inviting British Columbia municipalities to join a class action lawsuit to hold some of the world’s biggest fossil companies responsible for their share of the climate damages local communities are experiencing.

Infrastructure Gap a ‘Life and Death’ Matter as Northern Canada Warms
The first major assessment of the costs of climate change to infrastructure across Northern Canada calls for action from all levels of government to bring about “transformative adaptation” and address the dual crises of climate hazards and infrastructure gaps.

B.C. Building Code Changes ‘Insufficient’ Against Deadly Hot Summers
The British Columbia coroner’s report on last year’s 619 extreme-heat-related deaths in the province recommends building codes be updated to require cooling systems, but experts call that measure a “necessary but insufficient action” as Canadian summers grow dangerously hotter.

Net-Zero Transition Can Open Jobs to Marginalized Groups
As Canada’s oilpatch scrambles to fill 2,000+ job openings created by shifting geopolitical and economic winds, new analysis is calling on governments to ensure workers aren’t unduly disrupted by the country’s climate pledges, and that clean energy jobs are available to groups that have been shut out in the past.

Fossils Won’t Hit 2030 Carbon Target Without Cutting Production, Federal Analysis Shows
Internal analysis by federal officials raises tough questions about whether the Canadian fossil industry can achieve the 81 megatonnes of emissions cuts the Trudeau government has promised by 2030 without cutting production, according to confidential documents obtained by the Globe and Mail.

‘Surge of Investment’ Brings Record Growth to Alberta Renewables Market
Unprecedented growth in Alberta’s renewable energy sector signifies a vital shift in the province’s energy economy, says the Pembina Institute, but another expert notes that Alberta’s power market also needs to be fixed—so that consumers aren’t overcharged for new grid infrastructure in the renewables boom.

In Conversation: ‘Sue Big Oil’ to Pay Its Share for Climate Disruption, B.C. Legal Centre Says
British Columbians should expect their governments to hold fossil fuel companies accountable rather than passing the costs of climate change on to citizens, said Andrew Gage, Staff Lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law, in a feature interview just days before WCEL’s unveiling of the new Sue Big Oil campaign this Wednesday.

Takaro Doesn’t Deserve Prison for Tree-Sitting Pipeline Protest, Boothroyd Argues
Public health doctor, pipeline protester, and renowned tree-sitter Tim Takaro doesn’t deserve four weeks in prison for violating a court injunction against blocking construction of the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, climate communicator James Boothroyd writes in an op ed for the Toronto Star.

Ban Fossil Fuel Ads Like Tobacco Promos, Doctors Urge Ottawa
With air pollution from fossil fuels responsible for up to 34,000 premature deaths in Canada, but the fossil industry still allowed to market its products as a boon to all, Ottawa must put an end to the spin-doctoring, says the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE).

Line 5 Closure Brings Negligible Rise in Gas Prices, Enbridge Consultant Finds
A consulting report for Enbridge Inc. estimates the closure of the Line 5 pipeline would lead to an increase of one to two cents per litre in gasoline prices for Ontarians and Quebecers, a revelation that has reignited debate on the true economic impacts of shuttering an aging pipeline with very clear environmental risks.

‘Extreme Act of Aggression’: Alberta Warns Ottawa Against Windfall Profit Tax on Fossils
Alberta’s energy minister is warning that anything resembling the United Kingdom’s windfall profits tax on oil and gas companies must not be implemented in Canada, adding that any federal action in that direction would be an “extreme act of aggression”.

Ottawa’s New Carbon Offset Market Lets Big Industry Keep Polluting, Critics Warn
Canada’s first federal carbon offset market kicked off Wednesday as the final piece of the puzzle in the carbon price for big industry takes shape. Climate activists say it simply makes it cheaper for big industry to keep polluting.

Canada, California Agree to ‘Modest Expansion’ of 2019 Climate Action Plan
Canada and California are kindred progressive spirits on climate change, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday, as he and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled a new blueprint for working together to stave off the worst consequences of a warming planet.

Coroner’s Heat Dome Report Calls for Better Supports After B.C. Pledges Heat Alert System
British Columbia has more ground to cover to protect people and communities from heat emergencies, even though the province would be better prepared now to withstand the heat dome that resulted in more than 600 deaths last summer, says the chief medical officer at BC’s Coroners Service.

Projects Push Renewables Ahead on Canada’s East, West Coasts
Canada’s shift to local renewables is in full swing from coast to coast, with Indigenous-owned hydroelectric and heat pump projects afoot in British Columbia, a 21-megawatt solar and storage project under way in Prince Edward Island, and new wind turbines coming to New Brunswick.

‘Geometric Innovation’ Has Fastest-Growing Green Companies Drawing More Investment
A lithium-ion battery recycler, a deep geothermal developer, an electric bus manufacturer, and start-ups working on energy storage, fuel cell, electrolyzer, carbon capture, and desalination technologies are among the fastest-growing green companies in Canada, according to the Future 50 list release last week by Corporate Knights.

Economics, Jobs Might Sway Ontario Toward Climate Action: Radwanski
The economic case for climate action might be the line of argument the climate community needs if it hopes to push Ontario toward faster, deeper carbon cuts during the four years of Premier Doug Ford’s second term, Globe and Mail columnist Adam Radwanski suggests in a post-election column.

Montreal Airport Records Shocking Levels of Lung-Damaging Black Carbon
A recent study showing that levels of lung-damaging black carbon pollution at the Trudeau International Airport are 400% higher than in downtown Montreal has left those who live nearby anxious about their health, and at least one academic urging a rethink on the airport’s planned expansion.

ELECTORAL ROUT: Ontario Climate Hawks Look to Next Steps as Ford Surges to Second Majority Government
Climate policy analysts and campaigners were looking to next steps last night as they absorbed the results of a provincial election that delivered a second legislative majority for Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government, after the climate emergency barely scratched the surface of the campaign agenda.

EU to ‘Head Off Multiple Crises’ by Cutting Oil and Gas, Boosting Renewables
With the Trudeau government continuing to tout liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to help Europe free itself from dependence on Russian supplies, a new report says the continent is poised to boost renewable energy and reduce fossil fuels to just 18% of its electricity production by 2030, with the biggest importers of Russian oil and gas leading the way.

B.C. Charges 15 Wet’suwet’en Defenders with Criminal Contempt
The British Columbia Prosecution Service said 15 people are being charged with criminal contempt of court following protests last fall over a natural gas pipeline being built near Houston in northern B.C. Those charged are alleged to have breached a B.C. Supreme Court injunction granted to the controversial Coastal GasLink pipeline in 2019 that prohibited […]

Coal Conversation Comes Next as Canada, India Sign Renewable Technology Deal
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says a new agreement signed Thursday to cooperate with India on climate action is an opportunity for Canada to export its renewable energy technology, particularly related to making renewable energy a reliable source of electricity.

Electric Trucks Are Ready to Roll Today, New Study Shows
With subsidies to make them cost-competitive, electrified medium- and heavy-duty (MHD) trucks are viable and could replace a large number of fossil-fueled freighters on the road today, says the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), contrary to the misconception that electric vehicle technology can’t match truckers’ needs.

Small Modular Nukes Produce More Radioactive Waste than Traditional Ones, Study Finds
Small modular reactors, (SMRs), seen by the beleaguered nuclear industry as a shining hope for a global revival, may have hit a serious snag. A new study finds that mini-nuclear power stations produce higher volumes of radioactive waste per unit of generation than larger-scale traditional ones.

Federal Backing Made Bankers’ $10B Pipeline Loan an Easy Decision, Analyst Says
The decision by Canada’s six biggest banks to sink another $10 billion into the troubled Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is no surprise after a federal loan guarantee made it a straightforward business decision to back the project, says the financial analyst who accurately predicted the decision 2½ months ago.

Ford Government Pushes Urban Sprawl, Rural Communities Push Back
With Ontario voters going to the polls tomorrow, the battle is still on to protect the province’s rural communities from urban sprawl, amped up by Ministerial Zoning Orders (MZOs) that have enabled the Ford government to rezone land without a municipal council’s permission.

Provinces Show Mixed Results in Shift to Net-Zero
While British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta, and Quebec all have clear momentum in their preparations for the global transition off carbon, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and especially Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland & Labrador need to put pedal to the metal, says a new report from the Canadian Climate Institute (CCI).

EXCLUSIVE: Ontario Regulator Refuses New Pipeline, Tells Enbridge to Plan for Lower Gas Demand
The Ontario Energy Board sent minor shock waves through the province’s energy regulatory and municipal energy communities earlier this month with its refusal to approve the final phases of a $123.7-million pipeline replacement project in Ottawa proposed by Enbridge Gas.

Ford’s ‘Lack of Foresight’ Costs Windsor $2.5B Battery Plant Investment, 1,000 Jobs
With the provincial election just days away, a business group in Windsor is blaming the Ford government’s hostility to renewable energy for the loss of a C$2.5-billion investment from South Korean chemical giant LG Chem.

G7 Ministers Declare 2035 Clean Grid Target, Postpone Decisions on Climate Finance
The Group of Seven western industrialized countries set a 2035 deadline to decarbonize electricity generation, promised to end international public financing of fossil fuels this year, cited Russia’s war in Ukraine as a catalyst for a faster fossil phaseout, but left themselves a long list of agenda items on climate finance as they tied up a marathon series of ministerial meetings in Germany last week.

Energy Shortages, Searing Heat to Produce Widespread Blackouts This Summer
A lethal combination of energy shortages and searing heat is poised to generate enormous suffering in many parts of the world this summer, especially for the poor, the elderly, and those living in Asia, southern Africa, eastern Europe, and the American Midwest.

U.S. Ambassador Draws Alberta’s Ire by Favouring ‘Cleaner Energy’
The Biden administration has become the latest target of the Alberta government’s enduring sense of grievance, after Ambassador David Cohen declared a “return to civility” following the Trump years but expressed skepticism about increasing his country’s imports of Canadian oil and gas.

Pitch Renewables Projects for Fairness and the Greater Good, Communications Study Advises
Though most Canadians welcome the shift to a clean energy future, they don’t always support the individual renewable energy projects that are urgently needed to achieve that transition. A study has found that in order to engage successfully, climate advocates should use narratives that emphasize the shared public interest rather than individual or private gain.

Alberta Oil Operations Leak Billions of Litres of Toxic Waste Per Year, Study Finds
Forty years of largely unregulated growth have left 1.4 trillion litres of toxic tar sands/oil sands tailings sloshing around in “ponds” on the shores of the Athabasca River, devastating ecosystems and First Nations communities with neither plan nor budget for reclamation, says a new report from Environmental Defence.

Canada Can Hit 100% Zero-Emission Electricity by 2035 Without Nuclear, CCS, Report Finds
Canada can achieve 100% zero-emission electricity by 2035 with an electricity system that prioritizes renewable energy, storage, energy efficiency, and interprovincial transmission and avoids the pitfalls of nuclear generation, fossil gas, carbon capture and storage, and carbon offsets, the David Suzuki Foundation (DSF) concludes in a modelling study released this week.

Ford Mistakenly Calls Massive Storm a ‘Once in a Lifetime’ Event as Death Toll Hit 11
Ontario opposition politicians sharpened their focus on climate policy in the dying days of the provincial election campaign after Conservative leader Doug Ford mistakenly called the massive storm that hit Ottawa and parts of Ontario and Quebec on Saturday a “once in a lifetime” event.

Vancouver Neighbourhoods Close In on 15-Minute City Status, Study Finds
Vancouver’s core-area neighbourhoods are closing in on 15-minute city status, says a new study conducted by Simon Fraser University, largely because a decisive majority of residents can get to their nearest grocery store on foot, and at a relaxed pace.

Alberta Fossils Log Emission Cuts by Exporting Them
The current linchpin in Canadian Big Oil’s plan to be carbon neutral by 2050 is its apparent success at reducing the emissions intensity of each barrel of oil produced, a claim that relies on a form of creative accounting that treats a tonne of emissions exported to another country as a tonne removed from the atmosphere.

B.C. Eliminates ‘Broken’ Royalty System, Offers Fossils a ‘Money-Back Guarantee’
British Columbia is changing its decades-old royalty system, the fees it charges companies to extract publicly owned oil and gas, in an effort to align with provincial climate goals, but still maintaining subsidy support for fracking wells.

‘Wet Farming’ Essential to Restore Peatlands, Keep Warming Below 2°C
Across the globe, peatlands are under threat and their destruction is contributing to climate change. In Canada, Europe, and the tropics, peatlands are being drained for urban, suburban, and infrastructure expansion, converted to dryland agriculture, and mined for fuel and the horticulture industry, researchers Rafael Ziegler, Magali Simard, Rahma Eldeeb write for The Conversation.

Six Traumatic Years After ‘The Beast’, Fort McMurray Remains Loyal to Big Oil
Though residents remain traumatized six years after the wildfire known as “The Beast” tore through Fort McMurray, Alberta, their fierce loyalty to Alberta’s fossil energy industry leaves many unwilling to connect the dots between greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels and the increasing ferocity of wildfires.

Ontario’s New Highway 413 Would Boost Emissions, Bake In ‘Auto-Dependent Sprawl’
Conservative leader Doug Ford’s promise to build Highway 413, a proposed suburban superhighway ring road to the west and north of Toronto, would lock in a massive increase in climate-changing emissions and other damaging impacts for decades to come, critics say.

BREAKING: 40% of Fossil Fuels Now Under Development Must Stay in the Ground
Nearly 40% of the oil, gas, and coal now under development around the world will have to stay in the ground to give humanity a 50-50 chance of holding global warming to 1.5°C, a study team led by Oil Change International concludes in a paper published yesterday in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

Lack of Consent Drives Indigenous Opposition to Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mining Plan
By pushing forward Ring of Fire mining and smelting development projects in northern Ontario, experts say federal and provincial governments are failing to recognize the right to free, informed, and prior consent enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), ratified by the Canadian government.

Op Ed Slams Ford’s ‘Dismal’ Climate and Environment Record in Ontario
Ontario voters concerned about global heating and other environmental problems will find no champion in Doug Ford, given his track record of catering to developers and heavy industry at the expense of the public good, warns a recent op ed in the Toronto Star.

Floating Tidal Project Linked to Nova Scotia Grid in Canadian First
A floating tidal energy project in the Bay of Fundy has been successfully connected to Nova Scotia’s grid, an undertaking that marks a milestone for Canada’s marine energy ambitions, say proponents, as the bay’s tidal resources could be harnessed for thousands of megawatts of clean energy in the future.

EXCLUSIVE: Bid to Revive Doomed Nova Scotia LNG Project Collides with Germany’s Net-Zero Plans
The Trudeau government is talking up prospects for a new gas export deal to Germany involving a project that has already been proposed and withdrawn, a gas field in the Alberta foothills that has drawn scrutiny from provincial regulators, a financing scheme that will likely need federal backing to succeed, a route that may need U.S. regulatory approval, and a timeline that will likely be cut short by Europe’s rapid decarbonization plans, The Energy Mix has learned.

3,800 Residents Ordered to Evacuate after Flooding in Hay River, NWT
As they struggle with the immediate impacts of the flooding that has inundated HayRiver, Northwest Territories, anxious locals are questioning their municipality’s ability to respond in a climate-changed world where such disasters are growing more common and severe.

Ontario Pushes EV Charging, Leaves Out Vehicle Incentives in Run-Up to June Vote
Ontario Conservative leader Doug Ford is promising to install new charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) if his government is returned to office in provincial elections June 2, but has no plans to reinstate the EV rebates it cancelled when he took office in 2018.

Methane Emissions Far Exceed Reported Levels as Ontario Plans Gas Ramp-Up
With Ontario on the cusp of locking in its reliance on natural gas infrastructure, The Atmospheric Fund says emissions of climate-busting methane due to the province’s existing gas consumption are nearly double the amounts reported in Canada’s latest emissions inventory report.

Distributed Energy Matches New Gas Capacity in the U.S., Lags in Canada
As distributed solar that put the technology closer to consumers, rather than at a centralized generating station, gains serious ground in the United States, distributed energy resources (DERs) are running into barriers in Canada, especially in Ontario.

Trade Protection for Fossils Could Add Hundreds of Billions to Cost of Climate Action
Fossil fuel companies have access to an obscure legal tool that could jeopardize worldwide efforts to protect the climate, and they’re starting to use it. The result could cost countries that press ahead with those efforts billions of dollars.

Canadian Solar Announces Probe into Forced Labour Allegations
Canadian Solar Inc. has announced an investigation to determine whether any workers at its photovoltaic plant in China’s Xinjiang region were hired against their will, though the company claimed in the past it would be impossible to determine if its supply chain used forced labour.

Quebec Ignores Caribou Herds on Verge of Extinction
Canada’s collective failure to protect endangered boreal caribou herds and the forests on which they depend owes to a longstanding determination to put jobs and profits above the health and well-being of wildlife—a determination on particularly short-sighted display in Quebec, a new analysis concludes.

195 ‘Carbon Bombs’ Show Fossils On Track to Shatter 1.5° Target
The Guardian is out with an exclusive, explosive report based on months of research that documents the scores of new projects fossil fuel companies are proposing, enough to wipe out the world’s remaining carbon budget and shatter any effort to hold global warming to 1.5°C.

$10B Loan Guarantee for Trans Mountain Pipeline is Latest Federal Subsidy, Critics Say
The federal government has approved a new, approximately C$10-billion loan guarantee for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, a move it says is common practice and does not reflect any additional public funding for the high-profile, over-budget oil pipeline.

Lawsuit Targets Ottawa, Equinor Over Bay du Nord Project Approval
Environmental law charity Ecojustice launched a suit in federal court and local opponents staged a rally outside the St. John’s office of Norwegian state fossil Equinor as opposition to the controversial Bay du Nord offshore oil and gas megaproject entered a new stage.

Ontario Power Emissions to Rise 400% After Ford Cancels Hundreds of Renewables Projects
Greenhouse gas emissions from Ontario’s electricity system are set to increase more than 400% over the next two decades after the Doug Ford government cancelled a major wind farm and 758 smaller renewable energy projects, according to a forecast published by the province’s Independent Electricity System Operator and reported by the Toronto Star.

New ‘Business As Usual’ with Russia Affects Arctic Climate Response, Experts Say
As global heating brings dire ecological challenges and new resource opportunities to the Arctic, international security experts agree that stakeholder nations must work together to navigate the changing security dynamics—with the exclusion of Russia, whose war in Ukraine is threatening international order.

Ford Government Leans on Climate Denial to Defend Against Youth Lawsuit
The Doug Ford government in Ontario is relying on a “known climate change denier” to defend against a youth-led constitutional challenge to its climate change policies, Toronto-based Environmental Defence Canada contends, citing one of two affidavits filed as part of the province’s response to the case.

Heavy Industry Town in B.C. Embraces 100% Renewable Energy Transition
A heavy industry town in British Columbia with an ingrained suspicion of government has decided to say yes to a 100% renewable energy transition by 2050, after a local climate group spent time meeting people where they’re at with curiosity and compassion—a hallmark of the “deep canvassing” technique.

Warming Could Boost Food Security in Northern Canada, But Major Questions Remain
The changing agricultural landscape of Canada’s Northwest Territories is showing how rising global temperatures could affect food production, as growing conditions in the North become increasingly favourable, while heat waves and drought desiccate farmland in other regions.

With Ontario Facing Record Prices, Ford’s Gas Tax Rollback is No Answer, Analysts Say
Even with gasoline prices hitting record levels, and the high cost of living taking centre stage in Ontario’s provincial election, the Doug Ford government was still moving in the wrong direction last month when it opted to roll back gas taxes last month, analysts say.

‘Deep Entanglements’ Connect Canada’s Biggest Pension Funds with 76 Fossil Companies, New Analysis Concludes
The “deep entanglement” between Canada’s 10 biggest pension funds and a roster of 76 fossil fuel companies raises serious questions about whether fund managers and trustees are looking out for the best interest of the beneficiaries who depend on them, according to a scathing, 40-page report released yesterday by Toronto-based Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Climate Health.

B.C., Alberta Faced Record-Setting Extremes During 2021 Heat Dome
The murderous heat and wildfires that claimed lives and destroyed property in British Columbia and other parts of North America in June, 2021 has hit the global record books. According to a new statistical study, only five other heat waves worldwide since 1960 have been more extreme.

Climate Pledges Emerge as Ontario Party Platforms Roll Out
With the Ontario election under way and party platforms rolling out, there aren’t very many dramatic differences among the climate and environment commitments from the three provincial opposition parties, a compendium released by 13 environmental organizations shows.

89 Groups Endorse Climate-Aligned Finance Act as Lenders Risk Fossil Fuel Default
More than 85 investment firms, academic organizations, and environmental groups from across Canada and around the world are lending their support to a climate-aligned finance bill introduced by Sen. Rosa Galvez (ISG-Quebec) in late March.

Doug Ford Meets Maude and Millie as Climate Group Channels Famous Comedy Duo
An Ontario seniors’ climate group is channelling two of Canada’s most beloved comedy characters, Mrs. Enid and Mrs. Eulalia of This Hour Has 22 Minutes, in a two-minute YouTube video that takes aim at Ontario Conservative leader Doug Ford’s climate policies.

Ontario Election Begins Today with Ford Government Accused of 33 ‘Climate Crimes’
With a four-week election period in Ontario kicking off today, organizations across the province are hitting high gear in their efforts to push the climate emergency to the top of voters’ list of campaign concerns, while connecting climate solutions with the affordability, housing, and health crises the province is simultaneously facing.

Heat, Drought, Fire, Hunger: Studies Portend ‘Ferocious’ Conditions as Ecosystems Shift
Four new studies—each quite separate—appear to confirm that heat, drought, and hunger on massive scales can only get worse with rising global temperatures. One of the most ominous is a prediction that ferocious summer temperatures and extended droughts are increasingly likely to happen simultaneously.

Ontario Election Candidates Seize on Hamilton’s Urban Boundary Freeze
The City of Hamilton’s decision to freeze its urban boundary has become an issue in Ontario’s provincial election, with the incumbent Progressive Conservatives denouncing it as municipal overreach and the opposing New Democrats defending it as local democracy in action.

Mitrex to Install North America’s Biggest Building-Integrated PV System at Halifax Student Residence
Etobicoke-based Mitrex Integrated Solar Technology has signed on to install North America’s biggest building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system, at a student residence at St. Mary’s University in Halifax.

‘Tail Wags the Dog’ as BC Hydro Accused of Ignoring Habitat Conservation Duties
BC Hydro is falling short of its obligations to fund habitat conservation under the Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program, according to a brief from the B.C. Wildlife Federation and the University of Victoria Environmental Law Centre that asks the provincial auditor general to look into the matter.

Canadians to Pay Trillions for Climate Impacts by 2100, Report Projects
Canada’s economy will lose C$2.8 trillion in climate costs by 2100 if global temperatures rise by 2°C, a figure that doubles to $5.5 trillion should warming increase by the 5°C forecast in “business as usual” scenarios, says a new report.

Insurance Giant Allianz Sets Oil and Gas Exit Strategy
The world’s fifth-largest insurance company, Munich-based Allianz, is withdrawing coverage and investment dollars from a wide swath of fossil fuel projects as of next year, and will stop insuring its existing fossil clients when their policies come up for renewal.

May 3 Day of Action Pushes Canada to End Fossil Fuel Subsidies
Most Canadian politicians still don’t understand the most important thing about fossil fuel subsidies, writes UNB’s Jason MacLean: Eliminating all financial support for the fossil fuel industry is a necessary first step in completely phasing out fossil production and consumption in Canada.

Wet’suwet’en, Hollywood Team Up to Demand RBC Divest from Coastal GasLink Pipeline
Divest from the Coastal GasLink pipeline or Hollywood will divest from you was the message for the Royal Bank of Canada, delivered last week by Office of the Wet’suwet’en spokesperson Sleydo’ Molly Wickham and climate activist and actor Mark Ruffalo.

New Research Shows Higher Methane Emissions from Hydropower
A growing body of research published over the past two decades has found that most reservoirs, including those used for hydropower, aren’t emissions-free. Despite the green reputation of hydropower among policy-makers, some reservoirs emit significant amounts of methane, along with much smaller amounts of nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide.

German Independence from Russian Oil Clears Path to European Embargo
Germany is “very, very close” to declaring independence from Russian oil, vice-chancellor and economy and climate minister Robert Habeck declared last week, after Russian state fossil Gazprom cut off gas deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria over their “failure” to pay for the product in rubles.

Coal, Gas Face Deepening Financial Risk in Fitch Climate Vulnerability Ratings
Coal power plants face “existential” financial risk as early as 2030 and gas facilities will see their profits disrupted by “major changes to markets, regulation, and business mode” through 2050, according to the latest climate vulnerability assessment published by Fitch Ratings.

‘De-Malling’ Opens Up Two Future Trends as Big Shopping Centres Decline
Done in by e-commerce, the pandemic, and changing consumer values, the traditional cookie-cutter shopping mall is (mostly) dead in Canada. But from the ashes of “de-malling” may come something more vibrant—and environmentally sustainable.

Victoria Councillor Pushes for Free Transit for All
After persuading his colleagues to support free transit for under-19s and low-income seniors, Victoria city councillor Ben Isitt is working hard to push his city to join the 100 or so municipalities around the world that already make public transit free for all riders.

Overwhelming Homeowner Interest Fills Edmonton Home Retrofit Pilot in 48 Hours
The pilot stage of Edmonton’s Clean Energy Improvement Program was fully subscribed within 48 hours of its launch at the end of March, as homeowners raced to benefit from the promise of low-cost financing for climate-friendly improvements like solar panels and insulation upgrades.

Lavish CCUS Subsidy Still Not Enough to Motivate Fossils, Cenovus CEO Says
The intensely controversial investment tax credit unveiled by the federal government earlier this month isn’t enough to convince Canada’s major tar sands/oil sands producers to begin construction on a proposed massive carbon capture and storage transportation line, the chief executive of Cenovus Energy Inc. said Wednesday.

‘Disgraceful’ to Study Resource Sector Violence Against Indigenous Women and Girls, Conservative MP Says
A private email shows a Conservative MP from Alberta calling an NDP-initiated study into the relationship between resource development and increased violence against Indigenous women and girls “disgraceful.”

Montem’s Switch From Coal to Renewables Has Alberta Advocates On Alert
South Melbourne, Australia-based Montem Resources has announced plans to pursue a renewable energy project at its Tent Mountain site in Alberta’s Crowsnest Pass instead of its planned coal mine, but some environmental advocates remain suspicious of the company’s plans.

Loss of Honeybee Fertility During B.C. Heat Wave Raises Alarms for Other Species
Humans weren’t the only ones affected by last summer’s record heat wave in Western Canada. The high temperatures also put honeybees and other pollinators at risk, Dr. Alison McAfee of the University of British Columbia writes for The Conversation.

‘Overly Optimistic’ Hydrogen Target Sows Doubt on Canada’s 2030 Climate Plan, Environment Commissioner Warns
Canada’s latest climate plan makes “overly optimistic” about the role of hydrogen, fails to map out a just transition for fossil fuel workers and communities, relies on “aspirational numbers” for carbon capture and storage technology, and may ultimately fall short of the country’s 2030 emission reduction target, Environment and Sustainable Development Commissioner Jerry DeMarco warned Tuesday.

125 Ontario Groups Target Provincial Election Candidates with Emergency Climate Campaign
Binding, science-based climate targets, respect for Indigenous sovereignty, and investment in a “thriving, regenerative, zero-emissions economy” are the top demands from more than 125 organizations that were scheduled to launch the Ontario Climate Emergency Campaign at the provincial legislature later today.

Canadians Gain ‘Immense Health Benefits’ From Cutting Traffic Air Pollution, Doctors Say
Scientific evidence “unequivocally” indicates a need for decisive action to protect Canadians from the adverse health effects of traffic-related air pollution, says a new report prepared by doctors calling for a shift to electric vehicles and greener, more walkable cities.

Parts of B.C. Face ‘Overlapping Risks’ after Last Year’s Fires, Droughts, Mudslides
Alanna Cowan has watched the Nicola River in British Columbia’s Interior turn the colour of chocolate milk and rise every spring, as warm weather melts snow from the surrounding mountains. It is part of an annual cycle that can cause minor flooding, but Cowan said this year feels more uncertain.

‘Stop Burning Our Future’, Say Yukon Students Rallying for Climate Action
“You’re going to die of old age. We’re going to die of climate change,” chanted a group of Whitehorse, Yukon, high school students who gathered on Earth Day to protest the failure of way too many adults to take the climate crisis seriously.

Zest for Tar Sands/Oil Sands Fades as CNOOC Looks to Exit Alberta
A decision just a decade ago to invest heavily in the Alberta tar sands/oil sands has turned out to be a big liability for the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC)—and now the company is looking to sell off its Long Lake and Hangingstone operations before being hit by sanctions related to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Link Basic Income with Just Transition, Green Resilience Project Urges Governments
Economic security through a basic income must be at the centre of the just transition off fossil fuels, and Canadians need the wherewithal to build resilience in their own communities, the Green Resilience Project concluded earlier this month, based on a series of 33 local conversations involving more than 900 participants across the country.

Ottawa, Newfoundland Squabble Over Bay du Nord Royalties as Guilbeault Declares Future Projects Unlikely
The federal and Newfoundland and Labrador governments are in a squabble over who will pay hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties on the Bay du Nord offshore oil development, even as Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault declares the controversial megaproject may be the last ever approved in the province.

Ontario Expands Solar Net Metering as Electricity Shortage Looms
With pre-election announcements in full swing ahead of a June 2 vote, Ontario has shifted its net metering regulations to make it easier for homeowners, farms, and businesses to generate income from rooftop solar or other renewable energy systems by selling surplus electricity back to the grid.

G20 Falling Behind, Canada Dead Last in Widening Gap Between Climate Pledges, Climate Action
G20 countries are falling behind on the all-important “say-do gap” between their 2030 emission reduction pledges and the climate action they’re actually taking, and Canada shows up dead last among the 10 wealthiest nations in the group, according to the first annual Earth Index released this week by Corporate Knights.

Canada Leads World with $11B in Public Financing for Fossil Fuel Development
Export Development Canada shows up as the world’s biggest provider of trade and development finance for fossil fuels, averaging US$11 billion per year between 2018 and 2020, and Russia emerges as the second-biggest recipient of international public finance for fossil projects, in the latest update of the Public Finance for Energy Database released this week by Oil Change International.

Check the Fine Print, B.C. Homeowner Urges, After Insurer Refuses to Cover Flood Damage
A survivor of British Columbia’s catastrophic floods last year is warning others to check their insurance policies after she said she was offered a payout of only $30,000 when her home, assessed at $414,000, was destroyed.

Campaigners Vow to Stop ‘Low Emission’ Woodfibre LNG Facility in B.C.
A new liquified natural gas (LNG) project advertised as the “lowest-emission LNG export facility in the world” is set to proceed in British Columbia, but environmental groups say the facility will increase fracking in the northeastern part of the province, with adverse effects on water, climate, wildlife, and human health.

‘Loud and Clear’ Alarm Bells Over Extreme Heat in New Climate Adaptation Report
Thousands of Canada’s most vulnerable citizens risk suffering and death by extreme heat in the next few decades without collectively action to protect them and combat heat, says a new report from the University of Waterloo’s Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation.

Pandemic Year Cuts Canada’s Emissions 9%, Oil Sands Show Only Modest Drop
Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 66 million tonnes during the first year of the pandemic. But not all of those gains likely survived the economic recovery in 2021, and only a small share of the emission cuts came from the Alberta tar sands/oil sands, according to the government’s latest National Inventory Report released late last week.

New Ontario Climate Plan ‘Coasts on Federal Action’, Doesn’t Recognize Climate as a Crisis
Less than two months shy of the next provincial election, the Doug Ford government has quietly watered down the climate plan it announced with great fanfare in 2018, while claiming it’s still on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 30% from 2005 levels by 2030.

Three New Wind Farms to Add 1.2 GW in Quebec
The Seigneurie de Beaupré region northeast of Quebec City is in line to add three new wind farms totalling 1.2 gigawatts of capacity under a deal announced yesterday by renewable energy developer Boralex, Hydro-Québec, and Énergir, the gas distribution company formerly known as Gaz Métro.

OPINION: ‘Reckless’ Emissions Reduction Plan Won’t Deliver Results, Inspire Canadians, MacLean Says
Canada’s new Emissions Reduction Plan is “reckless”, doesn’t meet the criteria of credible net-zero emissions plans, and lacks any vision of a future capable of inspiring Canadians to change their lives, says Jason MacLean, assistant professor of law at the University of New Brunswick.

Overcome Fatalism By Talking Solutions, Climate Communicators Urged
A summary of public opinion research on what Canadians really think about climate change concludes that climate communicators urgently need to provide different audiences with tangible, specific examples of climate solutions, to counter a growing sense that humanity is helpless in the face of the climate crisis.

Quebec Becomes World’s First Jurisdiction to Ban Oil and Gas Exploration
In what campaigners are calling a world first, Quebec’s National Assembly voted Tuesday afternoon to ban new oil and gas exploration and shut down existing drill sites within three years, even as the promoters behind the failed Énergie Saguenay liquefied natural gas (LNG) project try to revive it as a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Veteran Journalist Sees ‘Flimsy Smokescreen for Climate Capitulation’ in Federal Budget
A veteran political journalist is taking aim at last week’s federal budget, combined with Environment and Climate Minister Steven Guilbeault’s approval of the Bay du Nord offshore oil project, as a “flimsy smokescreen for climate capitulation”.

Canadians Value Sustainable Design, Feel Left Out of Planning Process, Study Finds
Canadians strongly believe that new buildings should be accessible, beautiful, sustainable, and reflective of the culture and heritage of the communities in which they stand, according to a new study by the Angus Reid Institute.

Is CCUS Tax Credit the ‘Put Up or Shut Up’ Moment for Canadian Fossils?
In the hours and days after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland unveiled a budget that promised $7.1 billion in subsidies for carbon capture and storage (CCUS) technology, one of the most intriguing questions was whether the government was finally calling the fossil industry’s bluff on emission reductions—whether or not it meant to.

Analysis: Ontario Sabotages Ottawa’s 2030 Emissions Plan
One of the biggest gaps in the federal government’s long-awaited Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) is a reality the Trudeau government has no ability to control: its ability to deliver as promised depends on a provincial government in Ontario that has no intention of playing its part.

Analysts List Five Steps to Hit Canada’s 2030 Emissions Target
Canada’s new 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) is a comprehensive, ambitious, and transparent policy roadmap for achieving Canada’s climate goals. It uses credible modelling to demonstrate a path to 2030 targets. It’s a big step forward. It’s also not enough, write Dave Sawyer, principal economist, and Dale Beugin, VP of research, at the Canadian Climate Institute.

Halton Hills Declares Lessons Learned from Net-Zero-by-2030 Plan
Keeping the community onboard and elected councillors informed and involved were two of the most important steps in making Halton Hills, Ontario the first Canadian community to adopt a 2030 net-zero strategy, according to two of the program’s lead developers.

Alberta Caribou Recovery Plan Delays Tough Decisions by a Decade
The Alberta government has released recovery plans for two herds of threatened caribou in the province’s north that it says will bring the amount of usable habitat on their ranges up to the level required by a deal signed with Ottawa, The Canadian Press reports.

Affordable Housing, Cleantech Investment, Carbon Capture Subsidy Headline 2022 Federal Budget
Major new dollars for affordable and energy-efficient housing, a C$15-billion fund to accelerate clean investment, and a controversial tax credit for carbon capture and storage (CCUS) technology are among the big-ticket items in the federal budget tabled in the House of Commons yesterday by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Ottawa Issues ‘Slap in the Face’ to Climate Science, Approves Bay du Nord Offshore Oil Megaproject
The federal cabinet administered what one critic called a “slap in the face” to climate science with a decision today to approve the massive Bay du Nord oil and gas megaproject off the Newfoundland coast.

Don’t Count on Carbon Capture to Win ‘Race Against Time’, Ex-Shell Engineer Urges Ottawa
The federal government should not be relying on a carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) tax credit to help it win a “race against time” in the effort to get climate change under control, a former Shell Canada engineer argues this week in an opinion piece for The Hill Times.

Suncor Drops Solar and Wind Assets to Focus on Hydrogen, Biofuels, CCS
On the very same day that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its “now or never” plea to slam the brakes on carbon, Calgary-based Suncor Energy ditched its solar and wind assets—aiming instead to keep the combustion engine alive with hydrogen, biofuels, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) tech.

‘Nation-Building’ Development of East-West Grid Will Enable Renewables, Cost Billions
A price tag in the tens or hundreds of billions of dollars, and a project scope akin to that of the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1800s. That’s the scale of the massive investment in Canada’s electricity grid that experts say will be required in the near future, as the phaseout of fossil-fired power generation combined with a rapid increase in demand for electricity puts never-before-seen demands on this country’s electrical grid.

Provincial Energy Efficiency Programs Fail to Tackle Energy Poverty, New Analysis Warns
Provincial and territorial energy efficiency programs are failing to reach the 20% of Canadians who are struggling to cover their home energy costs, but federal investment can stop those households from being left behind in the push for net-zero emissions, Efficiency Canada says in a new report.

Ontario Pension Plan Cited as Climate Leader, Still Falls Short on Emissions Disclosure
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) has “solidified its position as a climate leader among Canadian pension funds,” but still isn’t fully heeding its members’ calls to invest in a climate-safe future, according to an independent analysis of its annual report released late last month.

RBC, TD Lead 51% Rise in Tar Sands/Oil Sands Investment as Biggest Banks Fund Climate Chaos
Fossil investment from the world’s 60 biggest banks hit US$4.6 trillion in the six years since the Paris climate agreement was signed, while the Royal Bank of Canada and TD Bank led a 51% increase in tar sands/oil sands investment last year, according to the latest edition of the annual Banking on Climate Chaos report released Wednesday.

Fossils Fret About ‘Uncertainty’ in Federal Emissions Plan
Canada’s oil and gas industry says it’s been left in the dark about exactly how much it will be required to reduce its emissions in the coming decade, after the federal government’s new Emissions Reduction Plan made it clear that fossils must bring their carbon pollution down 42% from 2019 levels by 2030.

Limit Reliance on ‘Reckless’ Negative Emissions Tech, WCEL Analysis Urges
The inclusion of “anthropogenic removals” in the legislation establishing Canada’s climate goals leaves ministers with “considerable latitude” to develop plans that lean on negative emissions technologies (NETs) instead of prioritizing emissions reductions, legal experts warn.

Biden Deploys Defense Production Act to Boost EV Batteries, ‘Free U.S. from Fossil Dependence’
U.S. President Joe Biden brandished one of the biggest weapons in his economic arsenal Thursday in hopes of turning the United States into a leading producer of electric-vehicle batteries and the minerals used to make them.

Nordic Cooperation on Electricity Holds Big Lessons For Canada, Case Study Finds
As it seeks to decarbonize the grid, Canada’s “balkanized” power sector has much to learn from longstanding Nordic co-operation, policy advisor Shawn McCarthy writes in a recent case study for the Canadian Climate Institute.

Easier Ride for Fossils, But $9.1B in Climate Funding as Ottawa Releases 2030 Plan
The fossil and transportation sectors get a relatively free ride and electricity producers do the most to decarbonize in the much-anticipated 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan released yesterday by Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault.

Bay du Nord a Bad Investment, Test of Trudeau’s Climate Commitment, Says Advocate
The proposed Bay du Nord offshore oil project in Newfoundland is economically and environmentally “impossible to justify,” writes an environmental advocate, calling the venture’s emissions damaging and unnecessary as Canada lags on climate goals.

New Model Building Code Shows Steps to Net-Zero Ready Buildings by 2030
Canada’s National Research Council has quietly released a new set of national building codes that show how provincial and territorial governments—which actually hold authority for codes and standards—can make new buildings net-zero ready by 2030.

Analysis: ‘Sink or Swim Time’ for Fossil Emissions May Hinge on Lavish Federal Subsidies
With the federal government’s new Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) due for release any day, news commentary is focusing on the central role of oil and gas in hitting the 2030 target—and what it’ll cost taxpayers to secure the industry’s cooperation.

Op Ed Charts Private Sector Role in Financing Climate Resilience
Weeks away from Canada’s first federal budget announcement following a natural disaster-ridden year, governments and private investors will need to collaborate to fund climate adaptation and prevention at the municipal level, a Globe and Mail op ed asserts.

New Senate Bill Targets Financial Institutions that ‘Fuel Climate Risk’
Federal financial institutions and federal-regulated entities would have to line up their investment activities with Canada’s climate commitments under Bill S-243, the Climate-Aligned Finance Act introduced in Senate yesterday by Sen. Rosa Galvez (ISG-Quebec).

Big Banks, Insurers Fail to Back Net-Zero Promises with Oil and Gas Restrictions
Although many of the world’s biggest financial institutions have been vocal about their climate commitments, fewer than half of them have introduced policies to restrict new oil and gas investments or phase out existing ones, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis released earlier this week by Reclaim Finance and more than a dozen advocacy groups.

Fossils Must Pull Their Weight, Cut Emissions 45% This Decade, Analysts Say
Canada’s long-awaited 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) must set legally-binding limits for the oil and gas industry that are “coherent with national targets”, since “other sectors would be required to do even more for Canada to achieve its target” if fossils failed to pull their weight, the country’s Net-Zero Advisory Body said in its official advice to the government earlier this week.

Bay du Nord Won’t Help Europe, Guilbeault Says, as NDP Questions Offshore Oil Project
The controversial Bay du Nord exploration project off the coast of Newfoundland is running into new headwinds in Ottawa, with Environment and Climate Minister Steven Guilbeault busting the myth that new oil and gas wells can help Europe free itself from Russian supplies and the NDP questioning how any new fossil project can align with the government’s climate promises.

New Online Tool Matches Canadian Oil and Gas Workers With Renewables Jobs
Iron & Earth has launched a new online tool to help Canadian fossil fuel workers move into careers in the net-zero economy, matching their skills to trades and administration positions in wind, solar, energy efficiency, electric vehicle charging, and more.

Liberal-NDP Deal Delivers More Stability, Not Enough Climate Action, Analysts Warn
The federal Liberals and New Democrats must make good use of the next three-plus years of political stability by embracing more decisive climate action than they promised in the supply and confidence agreement (CSA) unveiled yesterday, leading climate policy analysts have told The Energy Mix.

Canada, U.K., U.S. Must Cut Oil and Gas 76% by 2030 to Keep 1.5° Alive, New Analysis Finds
Canada is one of 19 oil and gas-producing countries that must reduce production by three-quarters this decade and phase it out completely by 2034 to keep a 1.5°C climate future within sight, while allowing less wealthy, more fossil-dependent economies more time to catch up, according to a new analysis released this week by the United Kingdom’s Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.

Local Groups Declare Bay du Nord a ‘Huge Mistake’, Urge Ottawa to Ditch Offshore Oil Plans
A group of civil organizations has called on Ottawa to reject the Bay du Nord offshore oil venture in Newfoundland and Labrador, recalling the province’s gutted cod fishing business as a lesson on the long-term impacts of environmental devastation.

Cities Must Use Their Authority for Bold Climate Action, Miller Says
Canadian cities already have the authority to take bold action on climate solutions, and the world’s best municipal climate leaders have shown how other communities can cut their emissions and embrace climate and environmental justice, former Toronto mayor David Miller told an online community meeting in Ottawa Monday evening.

Larger Dikes Needed to Protect Atlantic Canada Trade Route From Flooding, Report Finds
A Halifax professor is disappointed with a report that recommends more and higher dikes to prevent rising seas from flooding the low-lying strip of land that connects Nova Scotia to mainland Canada, as it leaves out the cheaper, more sustainable “soft” option of indigenous saltwater marshes.

TMX is ‘Economic Version of Smallpox Blanket’ for Indigenous Buyers, UBCIC Warns
The contentious Trans Mountain pipeline project could be the “modern-day economic version of a smallpox blanket,” the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs warned last week, in an open letter to the several Indigenous consortia that are lining up for a possible financial stake in the project.

Big Funding Announcement at Ontario Honda Plant Included No Promise of Zero-Emission Vehicles
A closer look at last week’s hybrid vehicle funding announcement by the federal and Ontario governments is revealing an unexpected twist: the more than C$260 million headed to a Honda manufacturing plant in Alliston, Ontario over six years includes no immediate commitment to shift the company toward zero-emission vehicles.

Ottawa’s Nuclear Funding Delays Climate Action, Ignores Indigenous Objections, Opponents Warn
The federal government is delaying climate action by subsidizing small, modular nuclear reactor (SMR) development, over the objections of the remote, Indigenous communities the technology is supposed to serve as an alternative to diesel generators, opponents warned last week.

Chambers of Commerce Back Line 5 Pipeline as Michigan AG Scorches Corporate ‘Propaganda’
Business leaders from the United States and Canada are again wading into the fray over Line 5, citing the energy crisis brought on by Russia’s war in Ukraine to accuse the state of Michigan of dragging its heels to keep the controversial cross-border pipeline in a state of legal limbo.

Fund Renewables Transition with Record Oil and Gas Profits, Columnist Urges
With oil prices soaring, Canada’s fossil industry is reaping record profits that ought to be invested in a low-carbon transition, not spent as returns for shareholders, says a Montreal-based finance professor who’s urging the feds to force the sector’s hand—to address the climate crisis, and for the workers who will inevitably suffer when fossil fortunes tank.

Conservative MP Urges New Brunswick to Adopt Federal Carbon Price, Let Rebate Cheques Flow
A Conservative member of Parliament from New Brunswick is raising eyebrows on both sides of the aisle by calling on the province to abandon its own carbon tax system and adopt the federal floor price on carbon.

Vancouver, North Van Soar, Montreal Keeps Transit Crown in Latest National Climate League Standings
Vancouver and North Vancouver each took top honours in three categories of a citizen-driven sustainability competition where volunteers across Canada tracked municipalities on 31 indicators of a better life for residents—from affordable housing to air quality, from gender equity to bike lanes.

Canada, Ontario Back Honda Hybrid Vehicle Plant, Dodge Questions on Consumer Rebates
Canada’s prime minister and Ontario’s premier announced millions in funding support for domestic hybrid car production this week, but both leaders dodged questions on the possibility of incentives to help Canadians buy them.

Activist Investors Want Annual Shareholder Votes on Banks’ Climate Risk Strategies
An activist investor group in Montreal is calling on Canada’s seven biggest banks to conduct annual “say-on-climate” votes to let shareholders pass judgement on their climate risk strategies. The Globe and Mail says the banks aren’t keen on the idea.

New Mapping Connects Indigenous Knowledge to Climate Impacts, Solutions
The Climate Atlas of Canada is out with a new Indigenous Knowledges component that captures the climate impacts facing First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities across the country and the solutions they’ve been putting in place, from land conservation to renewable energy development.

Nature-Based Solutions Could Help Newfoundland Homes Weather Coastal Erosion, Experts Say
Experts are suggesting nature-based solutions for coastal erosion while Newfoundlanders look to save homes and cemeteries from rising sea levels, but Canada’s coastal risk management policy is not keeping pace with the impacts from climate change.

Russian Oligarch Facing Ukraine Sanctions Supplied Trans Mountain, Coastal GasLink Pipelines
Steelworkers in Regina and politicians at all levels were scrambling to assess the local implications Friday after the federal government extended its Ukraine sanctions list to include Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, a close associate of Vladimir Putin and part owner of the steel mill that produced pipe for the Trans Mountain and Coastal GasLink pipelines.

Just Transition Advocates See Legislation on the Horizon after Federal Roundtable
An April 30 deadline for the federal government’s just transition consultation, announced as part of a virtual roundtable last Thursday, is being taken as a sign that Ottawa will be getting started on legislation to help fossil fuel workers and communities navigate the shift off carbon, more than two years after then-environment minister Jonathan Wilkinson’s pre-pandemic promise to make it happen.

TC Energy Spends Big on ‘Indigenous-Washing’ for Coastal GasLink Pipeline
Oil and gas companies and lobby groups in Canada are heavily investing in campaigns to present themselves as defenders of Indigenous interests in the face of high-profile protests against a controversial natural gas pipeline on First Nation land, a new investigation by Eco-Bot.Net and the Guardian has found.

Renewable Energy Co-ops See Scant Federal Interest in Locally-Owned Power
A group of 16 community renewable energy co-ops from seven provinces is fighting an uphill battle for recognition, nearly a month after urging the federal government to make it easier for Canadians to invest in locally-owned and -generated electricity.

B.C. Boosts Disaster Funding, Still Allows New Homes in Risky Areas
A disaster expert who led recovery teams after the earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed more than 230,000 people in 2004 says British Columbia’s climate response strategy must protect the province from future environmental events.

2030 Climate Plan May Fail Without Faster Emissions Cap, Deeper Cuts for Fossils, Analysts Warn
The Trudeau government may be left with big gaps in its 2030 climate strategy if it delays its oil and gas emissions cap until 2023, or holds off on setting tough carbon reduction targets for the industry, according to news reports this week.

Four Dozen Events Across Canada to Demand Federal Just Transition Act
About four dozen communities across Canada are planning events tomorrow to get action on the Trudeau government’s long-standing promise to introduce a Just Transition Act, aimed at priming fossil fuel communities and workers for the transition off fossil fuels.

End ‘Hefty’ Fossil Subsidies at Home and Abroad, Op-Ed Urges Ottawa
Advocates are urging Ottawa to fully and rapidly phase out all financial support for fossil fuel development—at home and abroad, abated and unabated—to correct Canada’s abysmal record of being the worst climate performer of all G7 nations since the landmark Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015.

Trans Mountain Won’t Get Investors without Government Guarantee, IEEFA Concludes
Just two weeks after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland declared that no more federal tax dollars will go into the financially troubled Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, analysts are warning that investors won’t touch the C$21.4-billion megaproject without government backing.

16 First Nations Sign Up for 10% Share of Coastal GasLink Pipeline
Sixteen Indigenous communities along the Coastal GasLink pipeline route have signed option agreements for an equity stake in the project, a move that one Indigenous leader hopes will set a precedent for future energy infrastructure projects in Canada.

ESG Championship to Distribute $75 Million to 3 Best Responsible investments
A group of eight charitable foundations and private trusts is launching a $75-million Great Canadian ESG Championship modelled on the Dragon’s Den reality TV show, motivated by the growing push for reliable data and labelling for environmental, social, and governance investments.

Expert Traces Trade Agreements’ ‘Profound’ Impact on Climate
As a Canadian expert urges governments to address the climate impacts of their trade and investment policies in light of a grim report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a small shift is already under way in the United States, with Republicans extolling the benefits of carbon border adjustments to thwart Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Alberta Extends Rocky Mountain Coal Exploration Ban Pending New Land Use Plans
The Alberta government is renewing and expanding its restrictions on coal mining in the province’s Rocky Mountains in response to a strong public outcry and two reports written following extensive consultations on the issue.

Climate Hawks Fracture on CCS Subsidy, McKenna Questions Tax Credit as Federal Budget Looms
The prospect of a new tax credit for carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technology in this year’s federal budget has battle lines drawn across the Canadian climate community, with sharp disagreements on whether fossil companies should qualify for taxpayer support and a former federal environment minister maintaining it’s time for them to pay their own way.