Energy and Natural Resources - Op Eds

Ottawa’s policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will cost Canadians, both directly and indirectly. In 2021, the Royal Bank estimated that reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 could cost as much as $2 trillion — which is almost three-quarters of last year’s entire GDP. We will also need to spend more to protect against a changing climate. To pay for all this, Canada badly needs economic growth.

Though virtually all governments and opposition parties twist themselves into knots to avoid saying it, trying to prevent climate change will cause economic pain. Yes, there will be new “sustainable” jobs and businesses, but the net impact will almost surely be negative. Assigning a price, by tax or regulation, to anything previously…

Alberta’s move last week to pause approvals for new renewable electricity investments sends a strong signal: The conservative, free-market fundamentals underpinning the province’s approach to electricity are no longer as strong as the past few decades might suggest.

Whatever happens between now and next February, when the moratorium expires, Alberta’s electricity industry is at a crossroads: Does the province continue to embrace its quarter-century as a free, open market, or will the government and regulator take more interventionist control over the type and location of generation investments?

In 1996, then-premier Ralph Klein’s Progressive Conservative government decided to let market forces govern electricity…

Fans of Canadian nuclear energy have a lot to root for these days. Two recent Ontario announcements, one about small modular reactors and one for a new large-scale project, indicate meaningful commitment to nuclear energy to meet rising demand. Along with hydro, nuclear power emits virtually zero greenhouse-gas emissions, and is foundational to meet federal emissions targets.

Albertans have a chance to learn from Ontario’s ambition – and Premier Danielle Smith’s recent mandate letter to Brian Jean, her Energy and Minerals Minister, presents a well-timed opportunity to do even more.

Among other things, the Premier asks the minister to co-ordinate “with other provinces and the federal government to further explore and…

In the drive to reduce global greenhouse-gas emissions, provide affordable energy, enhance energy security and provide benefits to Canadians, the country has an opportunity to play a vital role: exporting liquid natural gas.

According to the International Energy Agency, coal, oil and natural gas make up nearly 80 per cent of the global energy mix, and are expected to continue to comprise at least 62 per cent by 2050.

Natural gas is energy dense and emits the lowest pounds of CO2 per million British thermal units (btu) of all hydrocarbons. As such, it is an abundant low-emission substitute for coal and backstop for renewables in the evolving energy mix.

Both the United States and the European Union have displaced…

Canadian transportation policy is now operating under a Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) mandate that will soon have a binding effect as Canadians try to purchase their next vehicle, particularly light trucks.

A ZEV mandate requires sellers of light vehicles to sell a certain minimum of ZEVs (in effect, electric vehicles or EVs) in a year. The theory is that this minimum requirement will guarantee a market for ZEVs and thus encourage construction of ZEV manufacturing facilities and phase-out of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.

The federal ZEV mandate proposed last December states that sales of light vehicles (passenger cars and light trucks) must be at least 20 per cent ZEVs in 2026, 60 per cent in 2030 and 100 per…