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LATEST NEWS ON THIS TOPIC

Canadians Want Strong Emissions Cap Regulations, Not More Missed Targets
As the federal government consults about its upcoming legislation capping carbon emissions in the oil and gas sector, no doubt hearing often from industry lobbyists, Canadians are growing more cynical about the government’s ability to bring this powerful industry into line.

Hawaii Firm Turns Home Water Heaters into Grid Batteries
A Honolulu company is helping low-income families in Hawaii reduce energy costs while contributing to a more sustainable grid—by linking household water heaters to create a virtual power plant, effectively repurposing the ubiquitous appliances into grid batteries.

First Nation Scorches Imperial Oil, Alberta Regulator Over Toxic Leak
Informed nine months after the fact that its hunting territories may have been poisoned by a leaking oil sands tailings pond, the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation is accusing the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) and ExxonMobil subsidiary Imperial Oil of environmental racism, as experts urge Ottawa to close regulatory holes that fossil companies can exploit.

No Climate Risk Targets for Banks, New Guides for Green Finance as 2 Federal Agencies Issue New Rules
Bankers will have to disclose but not take action on their exposure to financial risk, and the definition of “transitional” investments leading to a net-zero economy might include new spending on carbon capture and “blue” hydrogen projects, under two new reports from federal agencies over the last several days.

UPDATE: Landmark Oceans Treaty May Stumble on U.S. Senate Adoption
Just days after more than 190 countries agreed on a unified treaty to protect biodiversity in the high seas—nearly half the planet’s surface—the deal is running into the harsh reality of what it takes to get any major decision out of the United States Senate.

Spy Agency Predicts ‘Profound Threat’ as Climate Impacts Accelerate Conflict
Climate change poses a profound, ongoing threat to Canada’s national security and prosperity, including the possible loss of parts of British Columbia and the Atlantic provinces to rising sea levels, the country’s spy agency warns.

Canada Falls Behind on Reporting Scope 3 Emissions
Making it mandatory for Canadian companies to report their largest and most material Scope 3 emissions categories will set them up for success in the global energy transition, the Canadian Climate Institute (CCI) concludes in a blog post published last month,.

Trailblazing Hydrogen Plant Could ‘Cannibalize’ Green Power from Nova Scotia Grid
Nova Scotia has approved plans for what could be North America’s first commercial-scale green hydrogen facility, amid lingering concerns that powering the plant could cannibalize renewable energy that’s vital to meeting the province’s climate goals.

Alberta Faces ‘Significant Disadvantage’ by Ignoring Energy Transition, Pembina Warns
Alberta’s ability to thrive and attract investment in a world shifting to low-carbon energy will depend on the climate and energy policy choices it makes in the weeks leading into this spring’s provincial election and beyond, the Calgary-based Pembina Institute warns in a 23-page policy roadmap released last week.

Fossil Donations ‘Balloon’ as Alberta’s Smith Touts $100M Tax Break
Oilpatch support for Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s agenda ballooned after she won her party’s leadership and put the so-called RStar program—a plan to give tax breaks to fossil companies for fulfilling cleanup work they are already legally obliged to do—high on the government agenda.

‘No Excuse’ for Methane Leaks, IEA Says, as Sask. Research Shows Unreported Emissions
The head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) says there’s “no excuse” for near-record global emissions of methane from fossil fuels, even as new research suggests heavy oil facilities in Saskatchewan are releasing almost four times as much of the climate super-pollutant as they report to government.

Mounting Losses, Legal Risk Prompt Insurers to Abandon Fossil Fuels
It took Munich Re almost 50 years since, but the world’s largest reinsurance company is taking steps to detach itself not just from coal, oil, and gas. The company announced in October that it will no longer insure new oil and gas projects as of April, 2023.

B.C. Public Pension Plan Pours Retirement Savings into UK Home Hydrogen Scheme
The public pension plan that manages the retirement savings of 715,000 British Columbians has bought into a natural gas transmission network that is touting a risky scheme to use hydrogen for home heating, despite persistent concerns about the cost, safety, and climate impact of the plan.

Aggressive Net-Zero Plan Puts PEI at ‘Centre of Energy Transition Universe’
A clever series of presentation slides at a conference in Ottawa last week placed small communities at the centre of the energy transition and spotlighted Prince Edward Island as Canada’s next source of breakaway climate leadership.

Wind and Solar Cheaper than Gas Plants in Ontario and Alberta, Study Shows
Wind and solar farms with battery backup are both cheaper to build than natural gas power plants in Ontario and Alberta, and the price of the renewable options is expected to fall another 40% by 2035, concludes a report released last week by Clean Energy Canada (CEC).

February Brings Record Cold, Widespread Power Outages to Much of North America
Swaths of North America are slowly emerging from a bone-chilling first week of February, after a fierce ice storm left 10 people dead and hundreds of thousands without power in some South Central states, and an Arctic blast set a new national wind chill record of -77°C in the Northeast.

Lithium Mine Divides Nemaska Cree Over Impacts, Benefits
Type the word “Nemaska” into a search engine and most results refer to Nemaska Lithium, the company that sought bankruptcy protection in 2019 before being partly bought out by the Quebec government’s investment agency. But Nemaska is above all a Cree community in the heart of the boreal forest that shares its territory with a wide variety of species.

BP Predicts Faster Oil and Gas Decline as Clean Energy Spending Hits $1.1T in 2022
Oil and gas production will fall faster than previously expected, renewable energy will grow more rapidly, and global carbon dioxide emissions will drop as a result, according to a new analysis released yesterday by colossal fossil BP.

Canada Needs Oil and Gas Emissions Cap to Hit 2030 Goal: NZAB
An independent federal advisory panel has declared Canada “unlikely to attain its 2030 emission target” without an oil and gas emissions cap, just days after senior oil sands executives insisted they can’t invest any faster in decarbonization.

Notley Scorches Federal Just Transition Bill as Fossil CEO Calls for Oilsands Boom
Alberta’s fraught politics around the upcoming federal just transition bill are intensifying, with provincial opposition leader Rachel Notley urging Ottawa to scrap the legislation and a fossil CEO claiming a just transition really means a boom in oilsands extraction.

Albertans Want a Just Transition, Despite Premier’s Grumbling
In early January, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson announced the federal government would soon be unveiling its highly anticipated legislation for a just transition, including a plan for helping workers and communities in the oil and gas sector shift into renewable energy industries like wind, solar, and energy efficiency.

Bogus Carbon Offsets, A Curious Seal, and £2,150 Per Household in Climate and Energy Costs
A nine-month news investigation by The Guardian, Die Zeit, and SourceMaterial, a non-profit investigative journalism organization, revealed that more than 90% of forest carbon offsets from the world’s leading provider are bogus. Indigenous and locally-controlled lands in the Amazon were storing carbon, while the rest of the rainforest was emitting greenhouse gases. Brazil’s new government confronted the “scorched earth” left behind by the Bolsonaro regime and launched its first raids against illegal tree-cutters.

Traffic and Transit, U.S. Gas Bans, Rooftop Windmills, Radioactive Wastewater, and a March 23 Day of Action on Banking and Oil
The U.S. set out to widen more highways, even though traffic planners know it never reduces congestion. Parking lots were falling out of favour, major U.S. subway systems were falling apart, Toronto’s transit plan was falling far short, Toronto’s parking authority fell for the idea of an EV charging network, and urban transit advocates wanted a federal strategy for zero-emission transit, intercity coaches, and rail.

2023 Will be a Watershed Year for Climate Litigation
With America’s first youth-led climate lawsuit scheduled to begin in a Montana court this June, a class action case against Australia by Torres Strait islanders, and numerous lawsuits against corporate climate culprits, climate change is very much on the docket for 2023.

Suncor Safety Violations, the Language of Just Transition, and California Faces Devastating Rainstorms
Suncor Energy and a subcontractor faced 28 charges for safety violations after a bulldozer crashed through thin ice on a frozen tailings pond in January, 2021, killing 25-year-old operator Patrick Poitras. “Someone didn’t do their job and I lost my son because of that,” his dad told CBC. “My son gave his life for that job.”

Trudeau ‘Handcuffs’ Alberta UCP with Carbon Capture Investment Pitch
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may have “handcuffed” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith by urging her United Conservative Party (UCP) government to invest some of its multi-billion-dollar budget surplus in carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), a Calgary-based political scientist says.

Scientists Debate Role of Warming Arctic in Winter Deep Freezes
The millions of North Americans who found themselves shivering through late December’s bitter cold snap can surely thank a meandering polar vortex, but whether and how a rapidly warming Arctic might be involved in these intensifying deep freezes remains a subject of fierce scientific debate.

Canadian Pension Funds Back Renewables, RCMP Spends $50M Policing Protests, Gas Stoves Linked to Childhood Asthma, and a Rogue Geoengineering Experiment Gets Under Way
Two of Canada’s biggest pension funds opened the year with new investments in offshore wind and overseas renewable energy projects, after a year of taking sustained criticism for their continuing commitment to fossil fuels. A leading sustainability consultancy profiled Canada’s clean energy powerhouses, Calgary-based ATCO Ltd. bought $713 million worth of solar and wind projects from oilsands operator Suncor Energy, and bids opened for onshore wind projects across nearly 1.7 million hectares of government-owned land in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Rise of Energy Storage Could Transform Ontario Grid
Ontario is staring down an electricity supply crunch and amid a rush to secure more power, it is plunging into the world of energy storage—a collection of technologies that is poised to transform the provincial grid and change the way energy is used, bought, and sold by homes and businesses.

THE RUNDOWN: U.S. Narrowly Averts Massive Blackout, USPS to Buy 66,000 Electric Delivery Vans, and Twitter Lights Up for Brazil’s New Cabinet
At least 91 people died and the eastern United States narrowly averted a massive blackout after a “bomb cyclone” hit much of the continental United States December 21-26. Facing renewed attention to the vulnerability of the Texas power grid, Governor Greg Abbott demanded a probe of fossil gas supplier Atmos Energy, just months after promising the state was ready to withstand the next round of winter storms. A Ford F-150 Lightning still had two-thirds of its battery capacity available after powering its owner through a two-day power outage in southern Ontario, and California utility PG&E distributed home batteries to help some of its customers get through summer blackouts.

BREAKING: COP 15 Seals the Deal on ‘Paris Moment’ for Nature
Countries attending the COP 15 summit in Montreal have adopted a 2030 deadline to protect 30% of the world’s lands, oceans, coasts, and inland waters, cut subsidies that harm nature by US$500 billion, reduce the loss of areas of high biodiversity importance to near zero, and cut food waste in half, in what some participants and observers have been calling a “Paris moment” for nature.

Make Oil and Gas Emissions Cap Fit for 1.5°, MPs Urge Ottawa
The federal government should introduce an oil and gas emissions cap that aligns with a 1.5°C limit on average global warming and creates incentives for innovation without favouring any specific technology, the Commons Natural Resources Committee concludes in a report issued last week.

$50B Opportunity Means ‘Go Time’ for Canadian Renewables: CanREA CEO
It’s “go time” for wind, solar, and energy storage in Canada—thanks to low costs, abundant resources, climate imperatives, and an estimated C$50-billion investment opportunity, says Vittoria Bellissimo, the Canadian Renewable Energy Association’s new president and CEO.

Time to ‘Hack the COP’ for Faster Solutions, Canadian Delegate Says
A municipal climate leader from Halifax came away from this year’s United Nations climate summit, COP 27, with a stronger network of contacts, a wider view of the climate challenges cities face, and a sense that it’s time to “hack the COP” so that participants get more out of the two weeks onsite.

‘Shockwave’: HSBC Refuses New Oil and Gas Field Investments, But Not in Canada
The world’s eighth-largest bank and Europe’s current biggest funder of fossil fuel expansion, HSBC Holdings, has announced it will no longer invest in new oil and gas fields. But its Canadian branch is exempt from the new policy.

Falling Oil Demand Means Canadian Fossils Must Decarbonize: Pembina
A peak in global oil demand before 2030, with steady declines afterwards, will make it essential for federal and provincial governments to press the fossil industry for faster decarbonization, the Pembina Institute concludes in a new analysis.

Biggest Spill in Keystone’s History Dumps Oil into Kansas Creek
A ruptured pipe dumped enough oil late last week into a northeastern Kansas creek to nearly fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool, becoming the largest onshore crude pipeline spill in nine years and surpassing all the previous ones on the same pipeline system combined, according to U.S. government data.

Faster Push for Critical Minerals Threatens Environment, Indigenous Rights
A mining watchdog says calls for less robust assessments and quicker permitting in Canada’s new critical minerals strategy will undo protections for environmental and Indigenous rights, which are being threatened across the globe in the rush for critical minerals.

Climate Denial on Twitter Surges at Full Throttle
Climate denial on Twitter went full-throttle in 2022, leaving a growing number of climate scientists and activists torn between their desire to exit the increasingly toxic media platform and the urgent need to continue speaking about climate change in public forums.

Renewables to Deliver 90% of New Electricity, Become Biggest Source by 2025, IEA Says
Key countries around the world are set to add as much new renewable energy capacity over the next five years as they did over the last 20, as governments look for affordable supplies that can address the overwhelming energy security issues raised by Russia’s war in Ukraine, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says in its Renewables 2022 report released Tuesday.

Guterres Decries ‘Orgy of Destruction’ as COP 15 Nature Summit Opens in Montreal
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged global consensus on conserving 30% of Earth’s land and waters by 2030 as the United Nations biodiversity conference, COP 15, opened in Montreal, presenting Canada as nature’s champion—despite its sizeable oil and gas investments.

Ontario Could Cut Emissions 85%, Save $9.5B by Replacing Gas Plants with Efficiency
Ontario could cut projected climate emissions 85% by 2035 and reduce its use of carbon-heavy, gas-fired power plants to less than 3% of power production if its grid met rising electricity demand with energy efficiency, solar, wind, and energy storage, according to an analysis released last week by The Atmospheric Fund (TAF).

Reject Fossil Development, Honour Climate Commitments, B.C. Groups Urge Eby
As liquefied natural gas (LNG) interests press for political support, British Columbia Premier David Eby must double down on his acknowledgement that any further fossil buildout will sink the province’s climate goals, the president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs says, in an op ed co-published with other leading climate advocates.

Ending the War on Nature Delivers Prosperity, Economic Justice: Torrie
This year’s devastating floods in Pakistan are one front in our clash with the planetary boundaries that define the rules for everything we do, but the war with nature will come to your doorstep soon, writes Corporate Knights Research Director Ralph Torrie.

Ontario New Housing Act Slammed for Promoting Sprawl, Weakening Protections
As Ontario’s newly-minted More Homes Built Faster Act is decried by Indigenous leaders, municipalities, farmers, and health experts alike, elected officials are questioning the “suspicious” link between developer titans buying parcels of protected Greenbelt land and Premier Doug Ford’s push to turn them into housing subdivisions.

Canadian Banks Increased Fossil Investment in 2021, Report Card Shows
Canada’s biggest banks receive letter grades of B- to D, and all show increases in their fossil fuel lending and underwriting between 2020 and 2021, in the latest report card issued last week by Investors for Paris Compliance (IPC).

Cities Take a Lead in Canada’s $1.6B Climate Adaptation Strategy
Cities are at the centre of Canada’s five-year, C$1.6-billion climate adaptation and resilience strategy, with Ottawa looking to local governments to deliver supports to Canadians increasingly facing the threat of wildfires, heat waves, and catastrophic storms and flooding.

New LNG Projects Would Stop B.C. from Meeting Climate Targets
Doubling down on liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to Asia could destroy British Columbia’s chances of meeting its emission reduction targets and make the province vulnerable to a rapid drop in global gas demand, two expert authors argue in a recent op ed for the Vancouver Sun.

Alberta Municipalities Push Back on Royalty Breaks for Oil Well Cleanups
Municipal politicians in Alberta are troubled by a proposed provincial program that would give oil and gas companies public dollars to clean up abandoned wells, saying the companies owe outstanding taxes and need to clean up after themselves anyway.

China, Saudi Arabia Must Contribute on Loss and Damage: Guilbeault
All big emitters—including China and Saudi Arabia—must contribute to a new global fund to compensate developing countries for the losses and damages they incur from climate change, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said toward the end of the COP 27 climate summit in Egypt.

Back Low-Income Energy Savings, Efficiency Canada Urges Ottawa [Sign-On]
Provincial energy efficiency programs and national energy savings rebounded after the COVID-19 pandemic, but energy savings for low-income households still need a lot more attention, Efficiency Canada concludes in the latest edition of its annual Provincial Energy Efficiency Scorecard.

GTHA Emissions Rising to Pre-Pandemic Levels, Putting Reduction Targets at Risk
Buildings, transportation, and industry are all contributing to a rise in emissions in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area (GTHA) that is moving the region farther from meeting its emission reduction targets, The Atmospheric Fund warns in a new report.

EU Aims to Boost Demand for Expensive, High-Emitting Fertilizers
The European Union is laying the groundwork to increase reliance on expensive, emissions-intensive fertilizers, a move that will hit hardest for developing countries looking for funds to deal with the impacts of climate change and reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate Leaders Urge Paris-Style Agreement for Biodiversity
The 2015 Paris agreement legally bound the world to keep global warming “well below” 2.0°C. Now its architects say nature needs a similar treaty, arguing that without urgent action to protect ecosystems, there will be no hope of accomplishing the Paris mission.

Canada Risks $100B in Stranded Assets from Fossil Expansion, Report Finds
Canada’s economy faces a stranded asset risk of at least C$100 billion when the fossil fuel era comes to an end, says a new report, with further losses as the global energy transition outpaces the country’s climate policy and clean energy investments.

COP 27 Side Deals Support Renewables in Egypt, Off-Coal Transition in Indonesia
While negotiations at the COP 27 climate summit lag and fossil interests strive to dominate the conversation, countries are announcing side agreements that point toward emission reductions and energy transition in parts of the world that need them most.

Climate Disinformation Campaign was Birthed in Canada, Journalist Finds
Extensive research conducted in the early 1990s yielded a practical solution to the climate crisis that would have averted the mushrooming environmental havoc the world faces today, says journalist Geoff Dembicki—but it was buried by Imperial Oil, using a canary-in-the-coal mine report to launch a disinformation campaign that effectively blocked early mitigation of the crisis.

Wildfire, Flood Projects in 112 Indigenous Communities Blocked by Federal Funding Backlog
The federal government still hasn’t provided First Nations with the support they need to respond to emergencies such as wildfires and floods despite warnings almost a decade ago, says a new report from Canada’s auditor general.

Unlock Municipal Green Finance in Global South, C-40 Cities Urges
Mainstreaming climate action into city financial systems, applying a climate budget to all decisions, and encouraging private sector investment in climate adaptation are strategies that all municipalities, regardless of their situation, can implement to unlock green financing, says C-40 Cities.

‘Toothless’ Methane Pledge Draws Fire at COP 27
Major energy exporting and importing countries made an ostensibly worthy pledge at the COP 27 climate summit to slash emissions from fossil fuels—but it turns out to be a toothless “paper tiger,” say climate watchdogs, with no legally binding effects and nothing new added to past commitments.

Migrant Justice Groups Bring High Urgency, Low Expectations to COP 27
The climate crisis is expected to create the largest human displacement ever seen in modern history. As many as a billion could be displaced over the coming decades, as more and more people are forced to leave their homes and communities because of floods, droughts, extreme weather events, wildfires, conflict, and extreme heat.

Climate Will Cost Canada $145B by 2100, But Fossil Emissions Still Rising
Even if all the world’s current climate commitments are met “in full and on time,” Canada will lose 5.8% of its GDP by 2100—$145 billion in today’s dollars—due to higher temperatures, increased precipitation, and changing weather patterns, finds a new report from the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO).

50 Big Firms Join Climate Action Declaration to ‘Outsize’, ‘Outvoice’ the Global Fossil Lobby
Just a few years ago, much of the business community viewed climate advocates with indifference or skepticism. Today, companies representing 40% of the stock market have committed to science-based targets around reducing their greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.

Competition Bureau to Probe Industry Greenwashing of ‘Clean’, ‘Natural’ Gas
Competition Bureau Canada has opened an investigation into allegations that the Canadian Gas Association is greenwashing fossil methane as clean, following a C$10-million complaint filed in September by the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE).

Experience, Empathy Heighten Climate Concern
With extreme weather events increasing around the globe, concern about climate change is creeping up, but slowly. Canadians still maintain an emotional or psychological distance in their perceptions of the personal risk of harm posed by climate change, with some exceptions.

Stop Greenwashing, Set Regulated Net-Zero Targets, McKenna Task Force Urges
Climate science and the depth of the climate emergency demand that industries, financial institutions, cities, and regions commit fully to real net-zero targets, end new fossil fuel investment, stop greenwashing their activities, start lobbying for rather than against ambitious government climate policies, and shift from voluntary climate action to regulated, verified emission reductions, according to a UN expert panel chaired by former Canadian environment and climate minister Catherine McKenna.

Petition Delivers 82,622 Signatures Demanding Oil and Gas Emissions Cap
With the COP 27 climate summit in full swing in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Canadian climate hawks were in Ottawa yesterday delivering more than 80,000 petition signatures—82,622, to be exact—calling on the Trudeau government to make good on its promise to impose an emissions cap on the country’s oil and gas industry.

CCUS Mostly Shut Out, Renewables Get Tax Credit in Federal Economic Statement
A pitch for private investment in emission reduction projects, including tax credits for renewable energy, low-carbon heating, and clean hydrogen, is one of the highlights of the fall economic statement released Thursday by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.

EXCLUSIVE: Canada Pitches European Gas Exports, But Europe Won’t Be Buying
Canadians are being sold on a future of natural gas exports to Europe just as European countries speed up their exit from all fossil fuels, says a leading energy transition researcher who’s just finished a series two-week fact-finding visits to Ireland, Denmark, and France.

Fall Economic Statement Today Raises Spectre of New CCS Subsidy
With Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland set to deliver her fall economic statement later today, climate and energy analysts are watching closely to see whether she sweetens the already lavish subsidies the Trudeau government extended to carbon capture and storage (CCS) in its 2022 budget.

Canadian Pension Fund Rejects Divestment, Takes Fire for Fossil ‘Entanglements’
The CEO of the pension fund that controls retirement investments for 21 million Canadians has reconfirmed his position that “engagement,” not divestment from fossil fuel companies, is the right way forward during the global energy transition.

Local Green Building Laws at Risk as Ontario Fast-Tracks New Housing Bill [Sign-On]
Municipal climate and energy leaders in Ontario are scrambling to protect energy-efficient building standards that may be at risk in the provincial government’s rush to push through its More Homes Built Faster Act, Bill 23.

New Ontario Bill Set to Gut Land Conservation, Public Consultation
Those who have the most to lose under the Ontario Ford government’s proposed More Homes Built Faster Act—which, if passed, will effectively gut the province’s land conservation and public consultation policies—include neighborhoods and civil society organizations determined to have a say in how development proceeds, municipalities looking to implement sustainable design initiatives, and especially Ontario’s wetlands, early analysis shows.

Indoor Farming Could Boost Food Security, Ease Supply Chains
Whether it was pandemic-driven supply chain delays, Russia’s war in Europe driving up grain prices, or flooding in British Columbia disrupting rail lines and highways, the past 2½ years have shone a light on how vulnerable Canada’s food system is to climate change and other global factors.

Nova Scotia Power Declares ‘Pause’ on $5B Atlantic Loop Scheme
Nova Scotia Power’s decision to “pause” its participation in the proposed Atlantic Loop megaproject is just a temporary setback in the bid to end the region’s reliance on coal, says the federal cabinet minister charged with moving the electrical grid off fossil fuels.

RBC Net-Zero Report Sets Soft Target for Fossil Producers, Aims to ‘Help Clients’ Do Better
The Royal Bank of Canada is out with a long-awaited net-zero strategy that sets a far softer target than the emerging international standard for financial institutions, while touting its ability to engage with clients in the fossil sector and beyond to drive emission reductions.

Ottawa Pours $970M into Ontario Small Modular Reactor
The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) is pouring nearly C$970 million into Ontario Power Generation’s plan to build the country’s first small modular nuclear reactor (SMR), a 300-megawatt unit on the site of the existing Darlington nuclear station off Lake Ontario.

Coastal GasLink Builders Sued for Millions in Unpaid Work
Coastal GasLink and a former prime contractor with alleged links to organized crime are being sued by four companies, working in partnership with three First Nations communities, for allegedly failing to pay an outstanding C$10 million for services rendered.

EXCLUSIVE: Rumoured Keystone Pipeline Sale Could Increase Spill Risk
Analyst chatter about TC Energy considering selling off the controversial Keystone pipeline could raise the risk of a major spill or leak, but still improve the Calgary-based pipeliner’s rating for environmental responsibility, The Energy Mix has learned.

Canada Will ‘Bend the Curve’ on Emissions, Keep Up with U.S. Incentives, Trudeau Says
Canada will meet its climate targets and “bend the curve” on emissions, while the United States enacts new incentives to make up for its failure to put a price on carbon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday during a last-minute appearance at a climate conference in downtown Ottawa.

Ottawa Overspends on CCS, Neglects Worker Skills: Iron & Earth
Energy transition support in the federal government’s 2022 budget favoured carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCS) over the best opportunities for rapid decarbonization, Iron & Earth Executive Director Luisa Da Silva told a Parliamentary committee Tuesday.

Canada Will Support ‘Economically Feasible’ LNG, Freeland Says
Canada is open to supporting “economically feasible” liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects to help countries like Germany reduce reliance on coal in the midst of a global energy crunch, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland told media Friday, at the close of annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington, DC.

Oilsands Alliance Demands Federal Backing for $24.1B CCS Project
Canada’s biggest oilsands companies have announced a conditional C$24.1-billion investment in a carbon capture and storage facility and pipeline along with other emissions reduction projects, just a week after an analysis showed them receiving $15 billion in federal subsidies so far this year.

Research Shows Big Knowledge Gaps on Climate Solutions, Nature Loss
The federal government is busy consulting us now, gathering input from Canadians on policy proposals for a just transition to renewables, a carbon emissions cap for the oil and gas sector, a clean electricity grid, and more. But how well informed do Canadians think they are about these potential solutions?

Competition Bureau Probes Climate Greenwashing Claim Against Royal Bank
The federal Competition Bureau’s decision to investigate charges of misleading advertising against the Royal Bank of Canada is a sign that federal regulators are paying closer attention to the climate crisis and its causes, says the environmental law charity that filed the case.

‘Smokescreen’ Masks $17B Taxpayer Cost for Trans Mountain Pipeline
The federal government is relying on “irrelevant” analysis and a “smokescreen” on public information to justify the $17 billion Canadian taxpayers are likely to pay for the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline, a veteran analyst warns.

Fertilizer Lobby Disavows Convoy Backing, Maintains Opposition to 30% Emissions Cut
The lobby group whose policy paper helped trigger a wave of misinformation and conspiracy theories about a supposed federal “ban” on nitrogen fertilizer is disavowing attempts to connect its research to a “freedom movement 2.0” follow-up to last winter’s convoy occupation in Ottawa.

Military Cannot be First Line of Defence for Natural Disasters, MPs Told
As national security experts warn that Canada’s military cannot continue as the country’s first line of defence in domestic disasters, organizations like the Canadian Red Cross are urging greater investment in local civilian emergency preparedness.

EXCLUSIVE: Pension Fund Gambles Retirement Savings on Alberta Oilfield Buy
A deal to sell 38,000 hectares of Alberta oil and gas lands to a company controlled by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is shining a light on large fossils’ favourite path to decarbonization: rather than shutting down some of their assets, they hand them off to smaller operators that then keep them in production.

$10M Complaint Accuses Canadian Gas Lobby of Greenwashing
A group of Canadian public health professionals and advocates have filed a C$10-million greenwashing complaint against the Canadian Gas Association (CGA) for a recent ad campaign promoting natural gas as a clean, affordable, sustainable energy option.

Toronto Corporate Landlords Use Cosmetic Upgrades to Raise Rents
Ten years of aggressive “gentrification by upgrading” has left Toronto’s Parkdale neighbourhood increasingly unaffordable, forcing lower-income tenants to compromise on basic needs like medicine and food to pay soaring rents, finds a recent study.

BREAKING: ‘Very Nasty Trade-Off’ as Ontario Picks Gas, Nuclear Over Renewables
Ontario can deliver enough distributed energy resources (DER) to clear a large electricity shortage over the next decade, but a prominent analyst says the provincial government is still pivoting between two equally “catastrophic” options—relying more on methane-heavy gas plants, or extending the life of an aging nuclear station outside Toronto.

Critics Slam Ontario Power Generation Clean Energy Credit Deal
Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) latest sale of clean energy credits to Microsoft Corporation raises questions about whether the credits meet the basic criteria for genuine carbon offsets—especially given Ontario’s plan to increase gas plant use and resulting emissions.

Don’t Subsidize ‘High-Stakes Gamble’ on LNG, Economist Urges Ottawa
Even with Europe scrambling to break its dependence on Russian gas supplies, there’s no reason for Canada to subsidize expensive liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects with questionable long-term prospects, says clean growth economist Rachel Samson, vice president of policy at the Institute for Research on Public Policy.

‘Yes, We Love Our Heat Pump’: Fossil-Free Household Cancels Contract with Gas Company
“To answer a question I am often asked—Yes, we are still happy with the decision, five years ago, to replace our gas furnace with an air-source heat pump,” writes engineer and renewables advocate Bill Nuttle. “It is one of the best decisions we ever made.”

Atlantic Canada Reels as PM Links Storm Fiona to Climate Change
With post-tropical storm Fiona taking its place as one of the biggest catastrophic events in Atlantic Canada history, communities began to pick up the pieces while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau connected the storm to climate-induced mayhem.

Canadian Senators Launch Climate Solutions Group
Canadian Senators with a shared focus on climate change and the independence to do something about it can help build momentum toward action and solutions, Senate Speaker Pro Tempore Pauline Ringuette told the official launch of Senators for Climate Solutions (SFCS) Wednesday morning.

Canada Can’t Hit Net-Zero Goals without Fossil Fuels, RBC Maintains
Even as a growing number of activists urge financial institutions to take action against climate change by reducing funding to the fossil fuel sector, executives with Canada’s largest bank say the country won’t reach its net-zero goals without the oil and gas sector.

One Dead, Atlantic Without Power as Hurricane Fiona Slams Region
Hurricane Fiona has killed one person, destroyed dozens of homes, and left hundreds of thousands in Atlantic Canada without power—after causing five deaths and widespread destruction in the Caribbean. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned Canadians that things will only get worse as extreme weather becomes more frequent, linking the devastating post-tropical storm to climate change.

5 GW of Offshore Wind Won’t Stop NS Hydrogen Plant from Starting with Coal
A blockbuster, five-gigawatt commitment to offshore wind, announced Tuesday by the Nova Scotia government, will be mostly devoted to producing “green” hydrogen for export, and won’t come online in time to stop a hydrogen and ammonia project in Cape Breton from relying on coal-generated electricity, The Energy Mix and Halifax Examiner have learned.

Quebec Parties Appease Voters, Downplay Climate Action
Quebecers tend to talk big on environmental issues, but they’re not so keen to walk their talk, finds a recent poll, and so politicians across the spectrum—with eyes on the ballot box—are happy to punt meaningful climate action on to future generations.

EXCLUSIVE: Nova Scotia Start-Up Touts ‘Green’ Hydrogen Plant Powered by Coal
A green hydrogen/ammonia facility planned in Point Tupper, Nova Scotia is being touted as a blessing for the province’s climate goals, even though it will initially be powered by a coal-fired grid—with all the ammonia slated for export overseas.

Ontario Climate Plan is Just a ‘Glossy Brochure’, Ontario Lawyer Says
Ontario’s climate plan is just a “communications product” and a “glossy brochure” with no legal force, not anything for which citizens or the courts can hold the Doug Ford government accountable, a provincial lawyer told a judge last week.

FSO Safer Salvage Delayed to Riskiest Months as Funders Lag
The salvage of the FSO Safer and its 1.1 million barrels of oil floating on the Red Sea will take place during the most dangerous time of year, after countries and private companies dragged their feet on a United Nations effort to fund the operation.

Wisconsin Judge Backs Indigenous Band, Stops Short of Shutting Down Line 5 Pipeline
The Line 5 pipeline has won a stay of execution in Wisconsin, where a federal judge sided with an Indigenous group’s complaint but stopped short of ordering the controversial cross-border energy link shut down entirely.

#TBT: Queen Elizabeth’s Banker Dumps Extreme Fossil Investments
June 28, 2020: Coutts, the private banker to Queen Elizabeth II and the rest of the British royal family, has promised to drop its investments in the tar sands/oil sands, Arctic oil and gas exploration, and thermal coal extraction and generation, and to reduce the carbon intensity of its holdings 25% by the end of next year.

Economic Readiness Frame Prompts Reluctant Canadians to Back Climate Action: EcoAnalytics
Amid current concerns about the cost of living, the economy, and health care, communicators may not know how to frame their efforts to drum up support for action on climate change and biodiversity loss among receptive audiences, let alone those with a history of hostility to climate action.

74% Want More EV’s in Canada as Automakers Face Supply Chain Snags
A new poll concludes that 74% of Canadians want car manufacturers pushed to increase zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) production, even if it harms their profits. But an industry representative warns that regulations targeting Canadian automakers could disrupt the North American auto market.

Vancouver Struggles to Plant Trees in Poorest, Hottest Neighbourhood
Four years after Vancouver pledged to double street tree density in the Downtown Eastside by 2030, lethal summer temperatures and high rates of mental illness among residents show how necessary and challenging it will be to keep its promise.

B.C. Zinc Air Battery Maker Announces First Manufacturing Plant in Upstate New York
Vancouver-based Zinc8 Energy Solutions Inc. has confirmed plans to build its first commercial manufacturing plant—not in Canada, but in the Upstate New York, motivated by production credits under the Biden administration’s newly-adopted climate action plan.

Alberta UCP Leadership Hopeful Spins Fake Conspiracy Theory About Trudeau ‘Climate Cops’
United Conservative Party leadership hopeful Danielle Smith in Alberta is being accused of sowing misinformation with her unsubstantiated claim that the Trudeau government plans to hire “climate cops” to enforce federal decarbonization policy.

10 of 13 ‘Flagship’ CCS Projects Failed to Deliver, IEEFA Analysis Concludes
After a half-century of research and development, carbon capture and storage projects are far more likely to fail than to succeed, and nearly three-quarters of the carbon dioxide they manage to capture each year is sold off to fossil companies and used to extract more oil, according to a sweeping industry assessment released today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

Canadian Deep Sea Miner Seeks Ocean Riches, Island States Lose Big in Bonanza of EV Minerals
As a Canadian deep sea mining company pushes to consummate its 15-year “courtship” of the United Nations agency responsible for overseeing the equitable, ecologically safe extraction of seabed resources, a new investigative report is raising flags about the deal and its impacts.

Deadbeat Fossils Dodge Property Taxes Despite Record Profits, Rural Alberta Suffers
Six months after the Alberta government admitted its efforts to make the Canadian oilpatch pay C$253 million in outstanding taxes had failed, rural communities that depend on the revenue have been forced to cut staff and suspend critical infrastructure repairs.

Fossils Can Cut Methane Emissions to ‘Near-Zero’ When Regulators Get Serious, Study Shows
A new case study from Alberta shows that when regulators force the issue and producers of fossil fuels get serious, the companies can drastically reduce their methane emissions without any immediate reduction in their oil and gas extraction.

Mixed Messages on LNG as Canada, Germany Ink Green Hydrogen Deal
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz signed on to a highly-anticipated but non-binding “hydrogen alliance” during a ceremony Tuesday in Stephenville, Newfoundland, capping three days of meetings that delivered new momentum for green energy development but mixed messages on the two countries’ future interest in liquefied natural gas (LNG) development.

Eastern Canada Aims for Clean Energy Hub as 3 Communities Vie for Investment
Canada’s East Coast emerged this week as a hotbed of clean energy investment, with a high-profile green hydrogen announcement in Stephenville, Newfoundland by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz augmented—and possibly one-upped—by a new green ammonia project in Nova Scotia and talk of a third production plant in New Brunswick.

Eby ‘Frustrated’ After Climate Hawk Appadurai Enters B.C. NDP Leadership Race
British Columbia NDP leadership candidate David Eby is declaring himself “frustrated” after Anjali Appadurai, director of campaigns at the Climate Emergency Unit, entered the race and turned a coronation for provincial premier into a two-candidate contest.

Canada Pledges ‘Aggressive’ Hydrogen Target, Clings to Fossil Option as Scholz Visit Begins
An energy pact between Canada and Germany expected to be signed this week in Newfoundland and Labrador will set aggressive timelines and targets for exporting hydrogen to Germany, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said Friday.

Nova Scotia Approves 5 New Wind Projects, Receives Pitch for Green Hydrogen Plant
Wind and green hydrogen projects saw a sudden wave of interest in Nova Scotia last week, with the province approving 372 megawatts of new Indigenous-owned wind capacity and a private developer seeking a permit for a green hydrogen and ammonia plant on Cape Breton Island.

NDP Backing for Trudeau Government May Hinge on ‘Big Commitment’ to Just Transition
An NDP Member of Parliament is hinting that his party’s continuing support for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority government might hinge on a “big financial commitment” to a just transition for fossil fuel workers and communities.

U.S. Judge Squashes Michigan’s Bid to Keep Line 5 Case Out of Federal Court
The international dispute over Enbridge Inc.’s Line 5 pipeline belongs in federal court, a Michigan judge declared Thursday, dealing a critical blow to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s bid to shut down the controversial cross-border oil and gas line.

Gwich’in-Owned Solar Farm in Inuvik to Deliver 1 MW, Cut Carbon, Boost Local Air Quality
A Gwich’in-owned company in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, is building a one-megawatt solar farm that will reduce the community’s greenhouse gas emissions by 380,000 tonnes per year, cut annual energy costs by $1 million, and improve air quality by replacing local diesel generation.

No Path for Canadian LNG Exports to Europe, IISD Analysis Concludes
With the European Union striving to slash its demand for Russian gas by two-thirds by the end of this year and end all its dependence on Russian fossil fuels by 2027, there’s no path for liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Canada to help the continent meet its short-term energy needs, the International Institute for Sustainable Development concludes in a policy brief released Tuesday.

Guilbeault Considering Alternatives to Releasing Toxic Tailings into Athabasca River
Releasing treated tar sands/oil sands tailings into the environment isn’t the only solution being considered to clean up the massive toxic ponds in northern Alberta, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says.

Toronto Housing’s Flagship Green Retrofit to Deliver 70% Drop in Energy Use
As the Toronto Community Housing Corporation embarks on an ambitious retrofit that will benefit its tenants and the climate, residents sweltering in a privately-owned low-income building across town are battling a landlord threatening eviction if they turn on the air-conditioning.

EXCLUSIVE: Hydrogen is Up, Pieridae is Out as German Chancellor Preps for Canada Visit
Prospects for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export deal from Canada to Germany are close to evaporating as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz prepares for a visit to Montreal, Toronto, and Stephenville, Newfoundland August 21-23, The Energy Mix has learned.

Researchers Study Carbon Loss, Forest Impacts of Northwest Territories ‘Zombie Fires’
The 385 wildfires during the Northwest Territories’ “summer of smoke” in 2014 were just the beginning. Researchers are now collecting the first field data on the “zombie fires” that have been smouldering underground and periodically reigniting ever since.

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.