Regina — In the debate over sustainable energy options for the future, wind and solar power usually receive the bulk of attention. However, recent technological developments are creating a new assortment of viable sustainable energy options that Saskatchewan is well placed to take advantage of.
Energy policy
Regina — With the release of the final report in the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Saskatchewan series “Transforming Saskatchewan’s Electrical Future,” former Saskatchewan Cabinet Minister Peter Prebble outlines the public policies that will be required to truly transform Saskatchewan into a renewable energy leader.
The recent decision by the European Union (EU) to disregard Canadian government pressure and forge ahead with regulations that recognise the higher green-house-gas intensity of fuel produced from tar sands and oil shale is encouraging. The Canadian government has lobbied furiously against Article 7a of the European Fuel Quality Directive and is even threatening to challenge the measure under international trade rules.
In the debate over sustainable energy options for the future, wind and solar power usually receive the bulk of attention. However, recent technological developments are creating a new assortment of viable sustainable energy options that Saskatchewan is well placed to take advantage of.
The experience of other parts of the world suggests that good public policy plays a crucial role in successfully developing renewable energy potential. With the release of the final report in the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Saskatchewan series “Transforming Saskatchewan’s Electrical Future,” former Saskatchewan Cabinet Minister Peter Prebble outlines the public policies that will be required to truly transform Saskatchewan into a renewable energy leader.
Canada's economic development model is on a collision course with the urgent need for global climate action. Worldwide, extreme weather events from drought to floods to powerful storms and record-breaking temperatures are making a powerful statement that climate change can no longer be denied.
Whether our "civilization" will survive this century is now — or should be — the main concern of everyone. It's no longer a far-fetched Chicken Little "the-sky-is-falling" bugaboo. Enough evidence has been found to show us beyond doubt that the next several decades will be the most perilous to confront humankind since the dawn of recorded history.
This study looks at the implications of unburnable carbon for the Canadian fossil fuel industry and in particular for financial markets and pension funds. The authors argue that Canada is experiencing a "carbon bubble" that must be strategically deflated in the move to a clean energy economy.
The failure to carefully regulate the bitumen industry is putting Canada on a dangerous economic and environmental trajectory. This study shows that the current bitumen path is creating the double threat: a “staples trap,” whereby the faster Canada exports its bitumen, the less diversified, productive and resilient the economy becomes;” and a “carbon trap,” which locks Canada into an carbon dependent development path, making the costs of future climate adaptation much more difficult.
This report compares the Canada and Alberta experience of managing oil wealth to that of Norway, another major petroleum producing and exporting country. The report finds that for too long foreign and domestic petroleum interests have been appropriating a disproportionate share of the petro-wealth in Canada and blocking effective carbon reduction measures. It asserts that Canadian governments should heed the Norwegian example and reclaim control of the petroleum industry.