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LATEST NEWS ON THIS TOPIC

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.

London Becomes Biggest City to Sign Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
London has become the biggest city so far to endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty—a signal that experts say must be matched by action in the United Kingdom capital, where the London Stock Exchange (LSE) holds gigatonnes of embedded carbon emissions in listed companies.

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.

Suspend Transit Fares, Not Gas Tax, Climate Advocates Urge Biden
The Joe Biden administration in the United States should be pushing for a transit fare holiday—and a windfall profit tax on fossil revenues—not a gas tax holiday, a measure critics are panning as anti-climate action that will do nothing to help consumers cope with inflation.

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.

PG&E Risks Greenwashing with Definition of ‘Scope 4’ Emissions
The decision by mammoth California utility Pacific Gas & Electric to report avoided emissions due to its operations could be a progressive step towards climate accountability, but unofficially framing them as “Scope 4 emissions” could open the door to corporate greenwashing, experts warn.

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.

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.

Private Weather Forecasting Gains Popularity Among the World’s Wealthy
As wealthy jurisdictions, companies, and people increasingly buy into the private weather forecasting market and its derivatives, questions are being asked about where this leaves less well-heeled, and often more climate-vulnerable, households and communities.

‘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.

Get Set for Decades of Sea Level Rise, Studies Warn
The small glaciers of Greenland are shrinking faster than ever. In the first years of this century, they were measured as losing ice at the rate of 27 billion tonnes a year. Between October 2018 to December 2021, that rate grew to more than 42 billion tonnes a year, a 55% increase.

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.

Young Mothers, Pregnant Women Bear Brunt of Climate Change in Earth’s Hottest City
Giving birth in 50°C heat, and forced by their circumstances to work very shortly afterwards, young mothers of southern Pakistan and their pregnant peers suffer cruelly from global heating, confirming the gendered nature of the climate crisis, say public health experts.

BREAKING: Energy Transition ‘Not Happening’ as Fossil Subsidies Fuel Historic Missed Opportunity
The countries of the world missed an “historic chance for a clean energy recovery” from the COVID-19 pandemic and saw renewable energy stagnate due to a surge of fossil fuel subsidies last year, the REN 21 Secretariat reports this morning in its Renewables 2022 Global Status Report.

Poor Communities Fare Worst as Extreme Heat Closes U.S. Schools
Extreme heat and humidity is inhibiting learning and leaving teachers in the United States anxious for the well-being of their students, as researchers estimate that by 2025, one in four public schools in the country will need to install air conditioning or upgrade their existing ventilation systems.

Civilian Climate Corps Delivers Green Jobs, Training to Avert New York Gun Violence
BlocPower’s Civilian Climate Corps provides paid, on-the-job training to New Yorkers who live in neighbourhoods with high rates of gun violence, aiming to start them on their way to a career in the city’s fast-growing green construction and clean energy trades.

Farmers, Indigenous Groups, Environmentalists Unite Against Midwest CO2 Pipeline
An “unlikely” alliance of rural conservatives, environmentalists, and Indigenous groups is resisting the potential use of the eminent domain doctrine—a legal tool that allows private land to be seized for perceived public good—to build America’s largest carbon dioxide pipeline.

‘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.

Leak Detection Technology Catches Fossils Underreporting Methane
Regulators around the globe are using monitoring tools, from infrared cameras to satellites, to call out oil and gas companies for methane leaks that are often underreported by fossil producers, with one group of U.S. legislators concluding that fossils are not concerned that the technology could fail—but rather that it might succeed.

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.

Vanishing Great Salt Lake Will Leave Behind a Bed of Toxic Dust, Scientists Warn
As a devastating drought threatens to dry up Utah’s Great Salt Lake, scientists warn of environmental apocalypses to ensue: millions of migratory birds will go hungry after losing their feeding grounds, and nearby residents will be exposed to dust clouds filled with arsenic.

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.

Residents Near U.S. Fossil Facilities Fear Pollution Surge Due to Ukraine War
Communities near fracking operations and liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in the United States are worried that industrial expansion prompted by Russia’s war in Ukraine will bring them increasing and longer-term exposure to health-threatening pollutants.

Alaska Embraces Microgrids, Battery Storage in Shift off Expensive Fossils
Worried about food security and determined to boost resilience while cutting energy costs, traditionally oil-dependent Alaska is looking to develop new microgrids and upgrade existing fossil-fueled ones—with renewables and storage.

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.

U.S. Transit Agency Electrifies 18 Years Ahead of Schedule, Cuts Emissions, Creates Jobs
A transit agency in California is drastically reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, saving money, and creating hundreds of jobs after shifting its entire 87-bus fleet from diesel to electric, 18 years ahead of the state mandate that would have required the new vehicles.

California Drought Raises Tensions As Water Scarcity Drives Unprecedented Measures
California’s unrelenting drought is straining the state’s resources and inflaming tensions in the legislature, as crucial drought relief policies and action are delayed by competing priorities like the pandemic, homelessness, and wildfires.

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.

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 […]

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.

New U.S. Bill Could Spur Heat Pump Uptake, Speed Up Decarbonization
The recently-proposed HEATR Act could accelerate heat pump adoption in the United States, deliver cost savings for consumers, and attract support from both sides of the aisle, say two commentators from opposite sides of the country’s fraught political spectrum.

Climate Disasters Force Care Workers to Double as First Responders
With long-term care workers and nursing assistants increasingly taking on the role of first responders during climate-driven disasters like wildfires and heat waves, California has launched a pilot project to train them for the new responsibility, while their union pushes for better wages and benefits to match the added work load.

Officials Visit Melting Glaciers in Peru in Climate Case Against German Utility RWE
A groundbreaking climate lawsuit—filed by a Peruvian farmer who alleges high-emitting German utility RWE knowingly contributed to climate change and the flood threat he faces—entered a decisive phase last week as German court officials travelled to Huarez, Peru, to examine melting glaciers.

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).

‘Modern-Day Gold Rush’ to Floating Offshore Wind Could Drive California Toward 85% Clean Power by 2030
California is gaining pace on its clean energy targets, with five leases for a combined 380,000 acres of floating offshore wind development a step closer to being auctioned. The most populous state in the United States could serve as a “guiding light” in the energy transition, with research estimating that California could achieve 85% clean electricity by the end of the decade.

Study Finds Cities Unprepared as Climate Change Intensifies Heat Waves
Nearly 20 years after a summer heat wave took 70,000 lives across Europe, even cities focused on climate action aren’t paying sufficient attention to the deepening peril of urban heat stress, finds a recent study, while cities in the developing world urgently need to develop long-term cooling strategies for their most vulnerable.

Bristol Mayor Flies Nine Hours to Vancouver for Climate Conference
The United Kingdom’s first mayor to declare a climate crisis is feeling the heat after taking a nine-hour flight to deliver a 14-minute talk at a TED conference in Vancouver, now being convened annually to urge city mayors to cut carbon dioxide emissions.

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.

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.

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.

Exxon Investors Demand Audit of Climate-Related Risk
Colossal fossil ExxonMobil faced three financial and legal setbacks in 48 hours earlier this week, with shareholders demanding a formal audit of the company’s climate-related risk and a Massachusetts court rejecting its bid to dismiss a legal challenge to its climate transparency.

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.

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.

Economic Opportunity, ‘Freedom’ Drive Red State Buy-In for Renewables
Invoking economic opportunity while avoiding language that conjures reduced choice or increased regulation—including the polarizing term ‘climate change’—is a key strategy to get renewable power projects approved in Republican states, say the authors of a new study.

‘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.

ESG Becomes Latest ‘Acronym-Based Outrage’ in U.S. Republicans’ Culture Wars
Republicans are coming out swinging against Wall Street’s growing efforts to consider factors like long-term environmental risk in investment decisions, the latest indication that the GOP is willing to damage its relationship with big business to score culture war points.

Texans Urged to Conserve Energy as Successive Heat Waves Strain Power Grid
After six power plants in Texas unexpectedly failed on Friday, causing a loss of about 2,900 megawatts of electricity—enough to power 580,000 homes—the state’s main grid operator is asking residents to conserve energy as they head into another weekend of record-high temperatures.

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.

Greens Take ‘Kingmaker’ Role after Elections in High-Emitting Region of Germany
Conservative candidates made gains, the Green Party tripled its popular vote, and climate action emerged as the second-most important issue after rising prices as Germany’s most populous and highest-emitting state held regional elections Sunday.

California Subpoenas Exxon in Probe of Global Plastics Crisis, Alleges ‘Decades-Old Deception’
California’s attorney general subpoenaed ExxonMobil late last month as part of what he called a first-of-its-kind broader investigation into the petroleum industry for its alleged role in causing a global plastic pollution crisis, allegations that the company called meritless.

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.

Cities Must Prepare for Waves of Climate Refugees: Panel
The current narrative linking international human migration with increased security risks should not be accepted at face value, say experts, and policy-makers must focus on building cohesive strategies and support systems for migration within borders in anticipation of large influxes of climate refugees, a conference audience heard last week.

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.

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.

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.

Coal Mining Communities Could Decide Result of Australia Election
Campaigners in Australia’s federal election are caught in a balancing act between appeasing the majority of citizens who want the government to prioritize climate goals—and seducing voters in a handful of constituencies where a major source of livelihood is the world’s dirtiest fuel.

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.

Texas Recovery Program Leaves Black, Hispanic Communities Waiting after Hurricane Harvey
A Texas state program to allocate federal aid for rebuilding after Hurricane Harvey unfairly overlooks Houston’s Black and Hispanic neighborhoods after it designed a competition-based application process that favoured smaller, predominantly white counties, community advocates say.

Wisconsin Band Seeks Ruling to Evict Enbridge Line 5 from Indigenous Territory
A Wisconsin Indigenous band is seeking a permit to immediately evict the Line 5 pipeline from its land, creating a second shutdown risk for a piece of fossil infrastructure that has already faced closure threats from the Michigan government, as well as other Indigenous and environmental groups.

‘Terrifying’ Regulatory Gaps Leave U.S. Unprepared for Massive CO2 Pipeline Expansion, Experts Warn
Carbon dioxide pipelines supporting a fast uptick in carbon capture and storage (CCS) could threaten the safety of countless communities across the United States, say experts, due to federal pipeline safety regulations that are woefully inadequate to cover the “flurry of multibillion-dollar CO2 pipeline proposals” now eligible for tax credits.

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.

Massive New Mexico Wildfire Puts Locals Under ‘Dark Cloud’ of Anxiety, Loss
With the worst of the thick wildfire smoke having blown out of town, residents of this small northern New Mexico city of Las Vegas tried to recapture a sense of normalcy Saturday as their rural neighbours hunkered down amid predictions of extreme fire conditions.

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.

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.

Major Japanese Railway Completes Shift to 100% Renewables
Tokyu Railways in Japan has begun using only renewable power sources for train and station operation along its sprawling route between Tokyo and Yokohama, producing carbon dioxide reductions that it says are equivalent to the annual average emissions of 56,000 Japanese households.

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.

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.

Australian Suburb Connects Community Battery to Rooftop Solar
As an example of what some see as a key piece of the transition to clean energy, a community battery in a Perth, Australia, suburb won over some of the community’s residents by storing electricity from rooftop solar panels to distribute back to the grid.

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.

U.S. Could Cut Transportation Emissions 34% by 2030, Analysis Finds
State, local, and federal emissions policies already stand to cut United States transportation emissions in 2030 by 19% from 2019 levels, but an expanded “all-in” climate strategy could boost the cuts to 34% by the end of the decade, new analysis finds.

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.

‘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.

‘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.”

Florida Governor Vetoes Effort to Slash Utility Payments for Rooftop Solar
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has unexpectedly vetoed a bill that would have slashed the rates that utilities have to pay rooftop solar owners who sell their surplus power back to the grid, a move that would have devastated the solar industry in the U.S. jurisdiction known as the Sunshine State.

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.

MISO Sees $10.4B in New Transmission Supporting 53 GW of New Renewables
The Midcontinent Independent System Operator is checking in with stakeholders on a plan to invest US$10.4 billion in new transmission that would enable as much as 53 gigawatts of new wind, solar, hybrid, and stand-alone battery storage capacity.

Conservation Groups Demand Further Review of Transmission Line to Stop ‘Orchestrated Trainwreck’
A group of conservation groups in Wisconsin are asking the state natural resources department to stop work on a US$492-million transmission line and revoke its wetlands and waterway permits until a “lawful” environmental review can be conducted.

‘Staggering’ List of U.S. Project Proposals Makes 2020s the Decade of Renewables+Storage
America’s electric power system is undergoing radical change as it transitions from fossil fuels to renewable energy. While the first decade of the 2000s saw huge growth in natural gas generation, and the 2010s were the decade of wind and solar, early signs suggest the innovation of the 2020s may be a boom in “hybrid” power plants.

India Faces Highest Max Temperatures in 122 Years after Relentless Heat Waves
The month of March brought India its highest maximum temperatures in 122 years, April has been scorching, and May is forecast to be even worse for more than a billion people facing ferocious heat waves that have been hammering the subcontinent since early spring.

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.

U.S. Scraps Incandescent Bulbs, Cuts 222 Megatonnes of Emissions Over 30 Years
The Biden administration is scrapping old-fashioned incandescent light bulbs, speeding an ongoing trend toward more efficient lighting that officials say will save households, schools, and businesses billions of dollars a year.

‘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.

U.S. Grids Plan $140B Per Year for System Upgrades in 2022, 2023
U.S. utilities are getting set to invest US$140 billion per year in 2022 and 2023 to upgrade obsolete infrastructure, boost reliability, and get ready for the surge in demand they’ll be seeing with the rise of electric vehicles and other demands on a decarbonized grid.

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.

Michigan to Consider Climate Impacts in Assessing Line 5 Pipeline Tunnel
In an administrative first, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) has announced it will consider the climate impacts of the four-mile (6.5-kilometre) tunnel that Calgary-based Enbridge is proposing to build beneath the Straits of Mackinac to house the controversial Line 5 pipeline.

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.

South Africa President Pledges Climate Adaptation As Floods Leave 448 Dead
After South Africa’s deadliest storm on record killed 448 people and left another 63 missing, the country is vowing to get serious about climate adaptation—a pledge that must address the tragic nexus between climate casualties, dangerously inadequate housing, and a sky-high unemployment rate.

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.

Michigan Utility to Phase Out Coal by 2025, 15 Years Early, Install 8 GW of Solar by 2040
Michigan’s biggest energy supplier will phase out coal in 2025, 15 years ahead of its original schedule, embrace low-carbon electricity options, and donate to a fund for low-income utility customers under a proposed settlement with Attorney General Dana Nessel.

‘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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

‘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.

‘Terrifying’ IPCC Report Chronicles ‘Fast Track to Climate Disaster’, Shows Narrowed Path to 1.5°C
With the options for holding global warming to 1.5°C quickly closing, countries must immediately phase down fossil fuel production, embrace low-carbon technologies that are already practical and affordable, mobilize citizens around the benefits of decarbonization, and increase low-carbon financing three- to six-fold, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes in a 2,913-page report released yesterday.

Emissions from Existing Fossil Plants Will Exceed 1.5°C Warming Target, Report Finds
The newly-released Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) summary of emissions trends and drivers cites a harrowing statistic: cumulative net emissions in the past decade were about equal to the remaining carbon budget for limiting warming to 1.5°C, considered the maximum possible without severe damage to the environment and humanity.

Pathways to 1.5°C Still Possible, But Only with Steep GHG Cuts, IPCC Concludes
The IPCC’s message on mitigation offers encouragement but leaves no room for any possible complacency: the evidence shows that humanity could contain global warming to no more than 1.5°C above the long-term average for most of human history, but only with rapid, deep reductions in the greenhouse gas emissions driving the climate emergency.

RETHINKING DEMAND: Tackling Consumption Can Deliver 40-70% Cut in End Use Emissions
For the first time in the UN agency’s 34-year history, yesterday’s massive report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) introduces the language of “demand-side” action to the field of climate mitigation, with potential to reduce emissions by 40 to 70% in the places where people live, work, learn, and play.

CITIES: As Urban Emissions Rise, ‘Aggressive and Immediate’ Policies Offer Hope
With “ambitious and immediate” mitigation efforts, there is still time for cities to achieve net-zero consumption-based emissions, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its latest report. But strategies for hitting the target will not be one-size-fits all, and will prove sufficient only if communities can address supply chain emissions that extend beyond their administrative boundaries.

TRANSPORT: Sector Needs Major Overhaul to Meet Climate Targets, Says IPCC
If global warming is to be limited to 1.5°C by 2050, the world’s transport emissions need to fall by 59% from 2020 levels, says the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), calling for “transformative” changes in the sector in its latest mitigation report.

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.

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.

Michigan Utility Takes ‘Critical Step’ to Expand Low-Income Energy Efficiency Programs
An agreement by a Michigan public utility to expand its low-income efficiency programs and study how the energy burden of vulnerable households can be reduced is being hailed by environmental justice advocates as a crucial move towards fighting energy inequality.

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.

When Climate Reporting ‘Hits The Wall’, Tell the Human Story, Panelists Say
Though the “tyranny of the immediate” can push crucial climate coverage off the front page—like when the headline-grabbing events of Russia’s Ukraine invasion overshadowed coverage of the latest working group report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)—media experts at a recent webinar hosted by The Energy Mix offered journalists a list of promising strategies to keep climate news in the forefront.

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.

Groundwater Breaks During Line 3 Construction Release 200 Million Gallons Near Minnesota Indigenous Reservation
The damage to public groundwater resources in Minnesota from missteps during construction of the Line 3 oil pipeline is more severe than previously known, state environmental regulators said earlier this week.

Chicago Environmental Educator Connects City Kids with Nature, Climate
For many city kids, flowers have cut stems and vegetables are packed in styrofoam and plastic on shelves in the grocery store. But by making a connection with nature in their own communities, kids learn that they can make a positive impact on their environment.

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.

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.

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.

‘Not That Hard to Grasp’: UK Could Eliminate Need for Russian Gas with Insulation, Heat Pumps, Renewables
The United Kingdom could eliminate all need for imported Russian gas this year and cut average home heating costs by £150 by embracing insulation and heat pumps, encouraging consumers to change their energy habits, and relying more on renewable energy, the E3G climate consultancy concludes in an analysis released 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.

Largest Government-Owned Utility in U.S. Backs Gas, Despite White House Climate Commitments
America’s biggest federally-owned utility, still under the influence of a Trump-appointed board of directors, is facing a federal investigation after announcing plans to spend more than US$3.5 billion on new gas-fired power plants rather than investing in cheaper renewables.

Cutting the Commute Helps, But Recognize Work-from-Home Emissions, Experts Urge Companies
The hybrid work week—with employees commuting to the office only occasionally—is not enough to limit corporate carbon footprints in a post-pandemic reality. Experts say progress to cut emissions could be held back if larger questions of evolving employee behaviours, efficient use of indoor space, and impacts on cities are not addressed.

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.

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.

Cap-and-Trade Could Add to Environmental Injustice, Undermine Emission Reductions, California Studies Say
Two recent reports have raised questions about California’s carbon cap-and-trade program, concluding that the system worsens environmental justice disparities and could undermine progress towards the state’s emissions reduction targets without effective policy reforms.

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.

Energy Efficiency ‘Could Swing Electoral Success’ in 40 UK Constituencies
With the war in Ukraine triggering a secondary crisis in gas heating costs across Europe, “tackling poor quality homes in marginal constituencies could swing election success,” the United Kingdom’s Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) concludes in a report released last week.

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.

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.

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.

Hawaii Offers Cash Bonus for Solar Homes Sending Power to the Grid
Hawaiian households with rooftop solar will soon be rewarded for sharing electricity with the grid at peak hours, while in California, three utilities are pushing to make solar-equipped homes pay extra fees as their monthly power bills go down.

Flood Devastation is ‘Time to Talk About Climate Change’, Australian Newspaper Editorializes
As an ongoing La Niña weather pattern inundated nearly 300 kilometres of Australia’s East Coast to cause record flooding and kill more than 20 people, this is “the right time to talk about climate change,” the Sydney Morning Herald stated, in an editorial criticizing the government’s inaction.

Karachi Expressway Will Wipe Out Small Farms, Displace Tribal Communities, Opponents Warn
Citing profound environmental and social justice costs, local activists are condemning plans to build an expressway that will bury one of Karachi’s few green districts under concrete and displace the tribal communities that have farmed there for generations.

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.

Ottawa Delays Bay du Nord Decision to Study ‘Significant Adverse Effects’
Environment and Climate Minister Steven Guilbeault has announced a 40-day delay, until April 13, in his assessment of Norwegian state fossil Equinor’s plan to extract up to a billion barrels of crude from its proposed Bay du Nord oilfield off the coast of Newfoundland.

IPCC Cites Fires, Floods, Food Supplies as Biggest Climate Risks for Canada
Wildfires, floods, and threatened food supplies are among the biggest impacts Canadians can expect from the climate emergency, based on the analysis in the “atlas of human suffering” the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change unveiled last week in its report on climate impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability.

Latest Cost Hike Makes Trans Mountain a ‘Delusion’, Tsleil-Waututh Say
In light of the Canadian federal government’s decision to not provide additional funding for the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project, the Tsleil-Waututh Nation Sacred Trust is calling the viability of the pipeline a “delusion,” and reaffirming its position that the project needs to be halted.

U.S. Fossils Severely Under-Report Methane Flaring, Investigation Finds
With new satellite data revealing that some United States oil and gas operators are flaring nearly double the volume of natural gas they self-report to regulators, observers are urging the Biden administration to keep its COP 26 pledge to regulate methane emissions.

U.S. Utilities Underestimate Cost of Carbon, Climate, Deloitte finds
Investor-owned utilities in the United States have underestimated the financial risks of stranded assets, future carbon costs, and penalties for inaction, which will cost them more than the expenses of rapidly decarbonizing now, according to a Deloitte report.

Keep Fossils Like FortisBC Out of Classrooms, Doctors and Teachers Tell Province
The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) wants to stop fossil fuel companies like gas and electricity distributor FortisBC from providing their own brand of educational materials to public schools in British Columbia.

New Brunswick Auditor General Rebukes Funding Gap for Energy Retrofits
New Brunswick’s provincial utility and its government must work together to ensure that low- and middle-income households can afford energy retrofits, a new report says, in a critique of the province’s failure to make energy efficiency accessible to all.

Think Tank Calls for Steep Carbon Cuts in Fossil and Power Sectors, Says Canada Will Still Miss 2030 Goal
Canada cannot realistically expect to hit its current target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions 40 to 45% by 2030, and should instead set a more modest goal while leaning heavily on the electricity and fossil fuel sectors for deep carbon cuts during this decade, a new think tank report concludes this week.

Reject Bay du Nord Oil Megaproject, 200 Canadian, International Groups Tell Ottawa
With a decision by Environment and Climate Minister Steven Guilbeault expected next week, nearly 200 environmental and citizens’ groups from Canada and beyond are urging the federal government to reject the mammoth Bay du Nord oil and gas development off the coast of Newfoundland.

Canada Plans Mandatory Energy Audits Before All Home Sales
Canada’s push to require energy efficiency audits for houses before they’re listed for sale is drawing flak from the real estate sector, even if it’s a basic building block for the amped-up energy efficiency effort the country needs to pursue.

Chicago’s Bronzeville to House America’s First Community Microgrid
Bronzeville, the epicentre of Chicago Black history and culture, will soon be home to America’s first community microgrid, after concerted efforts resolved the question of how to smoothly connect and disconnect a microgrid serving more than 1,000 buildings from the larger state electricity system.

IPCC Risk Analysis Shows Safe Limits Have Already Been Passed
Humankind is not just heading for a more dangerous future: for some people, the safe limits have already been passed, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows in its climate impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability report this week.

Richest Nations Won’t Escape Impacts as Global Warming Accelerates
While the impacts of climate change fall first and worst on developing nations, the climate adaptation report released this week by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows that the world’s richest countries won’t escape the unavoidable impacts of the emergency their greenhouse gas emissions have produced.

IPCC Delegates Defy U.S. with Loss and Damage Language, Raise ‘Issues of Colonization, Marginalization’
Despite efforts by the Biden administration in the United States to strike loss and damage language from this week’s climate impacts and adaptation report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is standing by its finding that the world’s poorest and most marginalized are unfairly paying the highest price for human-driven climate change.

Social, Ecological Infrastructure Can Limit Climate Impacts in Cities
With another 2.5 billion people due to move to cities that are already home to more than half the world’s population, the impacts of the climate emergency will be “felt disproportionately in urban communities with the most economically and socially marginalized, most affected,” the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns in its impacts and adaptation report this week.

BREAKING: 3.3 Billion People ‘Highly Vulnerable’, 1.5°C Still Brings ‘Unavoidable’ Hazard, as Brief Window for Climate Action Rapidly Closes
Limiting global warming to 1.5°C would still cause “unavoidable increases in multiple climate hazards” for the 3.3 to 3.6 billion people whose living conditions make them vulnerable to those impacts, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, in an exhaustive overview of the latest science on climate impacts and adaptation strategies released today.

B.C.’s ‘Fantasy’ Emissions Reduction Plan Will Lead to Energy Crunch, Experts Warn
British Columbia’s emissions reduction plan is “based on a fantasy” of bountiful hydroelectric power, and should be replaced with an effort to expand solar and wind capacity while promoting energy efficiency, a new report urges provincial policy-makers.

Homebuilders’ New Retrofit Project Targets 150 Units, Raises Questions about Impact
The Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) will spend the next five years looking for the most cost-effective ways to conduct energy retrofits on up to 150 homes and identifying barriers to net-zero-ready performance, under a C$4.5-million grant announced last week by Natural Resources Canada.

Harvesters Warn of ‘Dire Effects’ as Minister Aims to Protect Fish Stocks from Climate Disruption
A recent appearance by Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray at an industry annual meeting has set off a sea squall of controversy, with harvesters and unions warning of the “dire social and economic effects” of federal catch limits and Murray stressing her interest in keeping fish stocks sustainable in an era of climate disruption.

Drought, ‘Climate Whiplash’ Leave Farmers Without Water in California’s Central Valley
With California entering the third year of severe drought, federal officials said Wednesday they won’t deliver any water to farmers in the state’s major agricultural region—a decision that will force many to plant fewer crops in the fertile soil that yields the bulk of the nation’s fruits, nuts, and vegetables.

Dakota Access Pipeline Headed for Environmental Review After Striking Out at U.S. Supreme Court
The operator of the contested Dakota Access pipeline in North and South Dakota has failed in its effort to sidestep a new environmental review that could ultimately shut it down, after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

Big Cities Must Lead in Accommodating Climate Migrants, Study Advises
A study of climate migration in Mexico and Central America says big cities in the region must prepare for a huge influx of internal climate migrants, with lessons for all metropolitan areas on how best to accommodate new arrivals seeking better climate conditions and livelihoods.