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The climate conversation in Canada needs to move beyond noble aspirations accompanied by awkward contradictions around the expansion of fossil fuel production. Tweet storm to follow based on this new post! https://www.policynote.ca/low-carbon-reboot/#.XsfsqniLR5c.twitter via @ccpa_bc
Our COVID-19 experience invites us to reimagine alternative futures with vastly different rules and social norms, based on different principles, starting with public health and collective well-being.
As much as we aim to reduce carbon emissions, we need to inject that fight with climate justice and a push to eradicate extremes of both poverty and wealth. It’s not good enough to move to solar-powered sweatshops or precarious workers driving electric vehicles.
A new study put global carbon emissions down between 11 and 25 per cent per day in April 2020 compared to a year earlier. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-020-0797-x
Canada’s emission drop is likely to be at the lower end due to a much smaller share of emissions from electricity generation and a much larger share from heavy industry, where we have not seen the same COVID-induced declines.
The major areas where emissions fell during the pandemic shutdown—passenger transportation, commercial buildings and electricity generation—represent some 29% of Cdn emissions. Based on the IEA numbers these represent about a 9-10% drop in Canada’s emissions during the shutdown.
This highlights the role of industrial emissions, as Canadian households have no agency to control the two-thirds of emissions that come from our collective industrial activity. We thus need structural change, not just individual behavioural change
A good example of structural change is the transitioning of electric power generation away from coal. The most successful jurisdictions in reducing their carbon emissions to date have been those removing coal-fired power
This shift did not rely on millions of people deciding to switch their homes off of coal because of modest levels of carbon pricing changing incentives at the margin (as economists would say). Instead, it was done at a system-wide level by regulatory fiat.
Canada must come to grips with its alter ego as a major and growing exporter of bitumen and methane gas, while also continuing to export substantial volumes of coal. More than 1/4 of Canada’s total emissions—are from the extraction and processing of fossil fuels.
So how can we get on a pathway to our 2050 target of net zero emissions, and lock in carbon emission reductions as we emerge out of the shutdown?
1. Shift investment patterns away from fossil fuels and into clean, green, public investments that build the world we want.
1. Shift investment patterns away from fossil fuels and into clean, green, public investments that build the world we want.
2. Plan a managed wind down of fossil fuel industries.
3. Lean into carbon emissions through much higher carbon taxes on currently super-low fuel prices.
4.Accelerate the transition to 100 per cent clean electricity.
3. Lean into carbon emissions through much higher carbon taxes on currently super-low fuel prices.
4.Accelerate the transition to 100 per cent clean electricity.
5. Build out public transit in urban areas and high-speed rail to connect cities. If anything, COVID-19 tells us we need more capacity to mitigate against overcrowding.
6. Progressive taxation of air travel. A flight tax could increase substantially with each trip taken.
6. Progressive taxation of air travel. A flight tax could increase substantially with each trip taken.
7. Use the development of new affordable housing and social infrastructure (libraries, child care, and community health centres) to anchor complete communities.
8. Accelerate the targets for zero-emission vehicles and housing.
8. Accelerate the targets for zero-emission vehicles and housing.
9. Build more local capacity and supply chains.
10. Develop a zero waste and circular economy strategy.
11. Invest in people and implement well-resourced just transition plans for workers
12. Build in accountability with carbon budgets and a more robust democratic process.
10. Develop a zero waste and circular economy strategy.
11. Invest in people and implement well-resourced just transition plans for workers
12. Build in accountability with carbon budgets and a more robust democratic process.
