Aug 15 2019 — Karen Tam Wu — Pembina Institute — Seven months of B.C.’s climate action marathon. With fever-pitched debates over the polarizing issues of building pipelines and pricing carbon pollution taking centre stage, the marathon task of realizing British Columbia’s vision for climate action and a clean economy often gets lost in the conversation. Coming out of the blocks in December 2018, the CleanBC […]
May 11 2019 — Dylan Heerema — Pembina Institute — In Canada, both utilities and proponents of renewable electricity projects face many challenges when working together to transition remote communities to clean energy. To overcome specific barriers related to the governance and regulation of utilities, it’s important to first understand the current model under which electricity is provided to remote communities, which has remained basically […]
Feb 26 2019 — Maximilian Kniewasser and Brianne Riehl — Pembina Institute — Three months ago, the British Columbia government released CleanBC, a new economic strategy aimed at getting us back on track to achieving our province’s climate targets. The plan’s stated objective is to shift B.C. from an economy powered by oil and gas to one increasingly powered by clean energy. This is an ambitious proposition. Given the […]
Jan 16 2019 — Dave Lovekin and Dylan Heerema — Pembina Institute — The 250 or so remote communities scattered across the country are collectively home to about 185,000 people. They are mostly located in B.C., northern Ontario, northern Quebec (Nunavik), northern Labrador (Nunatsiavut), Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. Remote, in this case, refers to the fact they are not connected to North America’s integrated electricity grid […]
Dec 17 2018 — Dave Lovekin and Dylan Heerema — Pembina Institute — Many opportunities and challenges are facing remote Indigenous communities in Canada as they shift towards a clean energy future. More than 70 per cent of these communities are powered by diesel generators. The burning of fossil fuels has negative impacts on health, well-being, the environment, and climate change. In some cases, communities’ reliance on diesel-based […]
Sep 4 2018 — Karen Tam Wu — Pembina Institute — Strong plan will create jobs, fight pollution, and protect climate. British Columbia’s forthcoming clean growth strategy represents a must-seize opportunity for the province to secure a prosperous, low-carbon future. Fortunately, the government’s first clean growth intentions papers give us reason to be optimistic that this fall’s strategy will deliver strong action to protect our communities […]
Jan 23 2018 — Karen Tam Wu — Pembina Institute — Mission: combat pollution and secure prosperity for British Columbians. With flooding and wildfires on the rise, the negative effects of human-caused climate change are being felt here and now across British Columbia. In 2018, the B.C. government must stand up for a prosperous economy, safe communities, and healthy families by taking strong and decisive action […]
Dec 16 2017 — Annie Bérubé and Karen Tam Wu — Pembina Institute — Transition in building sector calls for federal leadership. Canadians spend 90% of their time, on average, indoors. Therefore, the quality of our homes and buildings is of major importance to our health and wellbeing, our comfort and lifestyle, and our productivity and pocketbooks. Buildings also matter to our carbon footprint — both as individuals and […]
Dec 9 2017 — Karen Tam Wu — Pembina Institute — Clean energy development must be tied to robust climate plan. As the B.C. government grapples with the looming Site C dam decision, it’s important not to lose sight of one thing: Our province’s efforts to tackle human-caused climate change are indelibly linked to today’s energy choices. British Columbians expect Premier John Horgan’s government to deliver […]
Aug 29 2017 — Dylan Heerema — Pembina Institute — Here in British Columbia, green buildings are quickly moving from niche to norm. All across the province, Passive House apartment buildings, LEED Platinum certified office space, and even green development plans for entire neighbourhoodsare demonstrating the market demand for high-performance buildings. The green building industry is now estimated to employ 31,700 people in B.C. We’ve been […]
Jun 2 2017 — Josha MacNab — Pembina Institute — British Columbia is at risk of being left behind as the global economy shifts and the costs of a changing climate begin to mount. Building a strong clean growth economy is imperative to ensure Canada’s westernmost province remains competitive. The Pembina Institute has put forth Vision for Clean Growth in B.C., an action plan that lays […]
May 11 2017 — Stephen Hui — Pembina Institute — Premier Brad Wall has once again raised the spectre of Saskatchewan taking the federal government to court if it enacts a national price on carbon pollution. Five months ago, the Justin Trudeau government announced a “federal backstop” starting at $10 per tonne in 2018 and rising by $10 per year to $50 per tonne in […]
May 2 2017 — Josha MacNab — Pembina Institute — The claim that B.C. LNG will result in emissions reductions in China is one that British Columbians have heard repeatedly over the past four years. The story by now should be familiar: producing and shipping liquefied natural gas from B.C. will be good for the global climate. The Pembina Institute dug into the numbers for just one of […]
Mar 31 2017 — Karen Tam Wu and Ian Cullis — Pembina Institute — With the new federal budget, Canada’s government is sending a strong signal that it intends to follow through on its commitment to curb carbon pollution from our homes and buildings. Investments in energy efficiency are peppered throughout Budget 2017, supporting the transition to a low-carbon building sector as outlined in the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean […]
Feb 21 2017 — Ed Whittingham — Pembina Institute — I fear that Jack Mintz, an elder statesman of Alberta’s economics community, has joined the “alternative facts” crowd. In a breezy newspaper op-ed — as derisive of carbon policy as it is deep on hearsay — Dr. Mintz sets out to discredit Canada’s emerging climate plan. As is the fashion of late, he uses a chainsaw […]