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Ottawa | Traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People The majority of Canadians want to see governments in Canada tackle the climate crisis by prioritizing renewableenergy and phasing out fossilfuels, according to a poll commissioned by Environmental Defence and conducted by Abacus Data.
Yet, driven by vested interests in the fossilfuel industry , misleading narratives aim to distort and hinder meaningful climate commitments. Fossilfuels are the problem It’s pretty simple: the burning of fossilfuels is the main driver of climate change. billion tons of the 40.5
Installations of commercial solarsystems on businesses, schools, and government buildings, for examplewere potentially 13% higher in 2024, per Wood Mackenzie. In this vein, 2024 included advances like Massachusettss new clean energy law , which will streamline equitable siting for clean energy projects. One of 2024s new crop.
The destruction caused by climate change is directly linked to human activity, primarily burning fossilfuels. This dangerous delay in action is largely due to the fossilfuel industry continuing to increase carbon emissions and standing in the way of change. . Tuvalu endorsed the fossilfuel non-proliferation treaty.
Utility companies, as well as state and federal government regulatory agencies, made a series of questionable decisions that together created the situation we find ourselves in today. The same scenario has played out with the power plants that use fossilfuels, predominantly methane (“natural”) gas, delivered by pipelines.
But the scientific and technological advances that made these technologies competitive with fossilfuels are much more recent. One thing you’ll notice is the importance of government-funded research and deployment incentives in helping to launch the solar and wind sectors. Early windmills developed in Persia.
Replacing fossilfuels with renewableenergy from wind and solar will depend on upgrading the electric power grid, which is currently plagued by planning delays and gridlock. To achieve the consistent, widespread planning that is hinted at by the examples described here, FERC and state governments need to make changes.
The 2035 target sets a marker to guide the next decade of climate action for all levels of government, industry, and Canadians. This new target represents a failure on the part of the Government of Canada to see that Canada does its global fair share. Provincial governments share the blame.
It is unlikely that the government will last long once Parliament resumes. At the top of the list of key climate regulations that need to be finalized before March 24th is the governments cap on pollution from the oil and gas industry. The Government of Canada promised the new rules by the end of 2024, but they missed their deadline.
The fossilfuel industry has known that its products are fueling the climate crisis for decades. Since their launch in 2012, the organisation has dedicated itself to encouraging Canadians to pledge support for the fossilfuel industry. I want to do what I can to protect the places and sports that I love.
In 2023 at COP28 , countries agreed to “transition away from fossilfuels” and scale up renewableenergy and energy efficiency. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from November 11 to 22, in a context of mounting climate-disasters and a fossilfuel driven affordability crisis.
After 30 years of international negotiations failing to mention the root cause of the climate crisis, the acknowledgement that we must phase out all fossilfuels and massively scale up renewableenergy in order to effectively tackle the climate crisis, was both long overdue and extremely significant.
Union of Concerned Scientists’ (UCS) research shows that top fossilfuel producers’ emissions are responsible for as much as half of global surface temperature increase. The best solution: Replace fossilfuels with renewableenergy. The transition to 100-percent renewables is possible.
Earlier this month at COP28 countries committed to transitioning off of fossilfuels and massively scaling up renewableenergy instead. So you’re excused if, like me, you’re baffled by Minister Freeland’s first move in the wake of COP28: a giant new fossilfuel subsidy, via the new Canada Growth Fund.
This year, we yet again witnessed the dramatic consequences of the world’s continued burning of fossilfuels, such as hurricane Debby in Quebec, the wildfires in Jasper, and the flooding in southern Ontario. But countries also bring representatives from outside the government to help shape the conversations. Who attends COP?
Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – We are disappointed to see the Ontario government make unsupported claims about the proposed federal clean electricity regulations. Battery storage is very cost-effective.
Officials at the state and federal level have launched a full-court press against what the financial industry calls “environmental, social and governance” (ESG) investing. At last half of the bills are based on a template provided by the fossilfuel industry-funded American Legislative Exchange Council. The short answer is no.
On this final day of COP28, just a few hours after countries of the world agreed on the need to move away from fossilfuels, I’m overcome with a mix of emotions. Inspired by the unstoppable momentum to secure a fast, fair, full and financed fossilfuel phaseout. And let’s be real, I’m also exhausted.
But this year, 2024, was different – Canadian seniors in 76 locations mobilized 6000 people to call for a better world, free from the destruction caused by burning fossilfuels. We also have to: integrate our support for, and build stronger alliances with, the Indigenous peoples who are leading the resistance to fossilfuel expansion.
You don’t have to look beyond the front pages of newspapers , or beyond rooftops in your neighborhood to know that we are in the midst of a clean energy revolution, with renewableenergy technologies dramatically decreasing in price and increasing in availability.
Earlier this month the Government of Canada delivered on a key climate promise and released new rules which end public funding for fossilfuels abroad, starting January 1, 2023. It also begins to align federal spending with a climate-safe future, by prioritizing public dollars towards climate solutions like renewableenergy.
By siding with fossilfuel interests and prioritizing short-term private gains over long-term public benefits, these provincial governments are saddling Canadians with a dirtier electricity system and higher costs at a time when the rest of the world is accelerating its transition to renewables.
The newly autonomous Bangsamoro government has invited investors to pursue drilling projects in a marsh critical for both Indigenous peoples and wildlife. Having gained its status as an autonomous region, the fledgling Bangsamoro government has invited investors to drill under the Liguasan Marsh for fossilfuels.
To deliver on this goal, the federal government made important investments in renewableenergy projects. Yet, reaching net zero also means phasing out polluting fossilfuelenergy, so the government developed rules to impose a pollution limit on electricity producers.
Minnesotans are already experiencing the climate crisis, as well as health impacts, from burning fossilfuels. A recent Union of Concerned Scientists analysis found that Minnesota could meet its electricity demands with 100-percent renewableenergy by 2035, which would provide significant economic and health benefits.
This moratorium on renewableenergy is bad for business, bad for the environment and bad for Albertans. Scaling up renewableenergy is essential to addressing the climate crisis. Alberta has been Canada’s leading province for building renewableenergy. Stopping now makes no sense.
State of Montana, a Montana trial court ruled that the state Constitution’s guarantee of a healthy and clean environment prevails over Montana’s longstanding fossil-fuel-based state energy system. The first legal challenge mounted by Our Children’s Trust was Juliana v. United States. The August 14th Held v.
A big shift to renewables could leave stranded assets — existing fossilfuel plants that the utility will no longer get paid for using. It looks likely that the Clean Energy Standard will have a stick in the form of a tax on utilities that feel to achieve annual increases in their use of renewableenergy.
How we do this, and how well it happens, depends on planning and collaboration across local, state and federal government. Smaller, decentralized growth in electric heat pumps for buildings, and electric transportation replacing fossilfuels also require more access to electricity and a modern grid.
We already have so many of the foundational technological building blocks of the clean energy transition at hand: renewables, energy efficiency, energy storage, and pathways to electrifying a vast array of energy end uses. The actual barriers to progress. We must turn our attention there first.
To begin with, there are the health benefits of the energy transition away from fossilfuels. As we clean up our energy system, we simultaneously reduce the tons of pollutants we now produce from burning coal, oil, and natural gas. But even apart from that, the energy transition will benefit nature.
California has been at the forefront of everything from limits on greenhouse gas emissions and 100% renewableenergy requirements, to a human right to water. Right now, UCS is working towards a fast and fair fossilfuel phase out. Up until now, taxpayers have footed the bill for the damages.
Even so, it compares favorably with the national governments in places like the U.S. According to the Energy Information Agency , South Korea’s power sector is heavily reliant on fossilfuels. Renewables are relatively small, at only 6%, but growing rapidly, having doubled from 2010 to 2019. and Australia.
The fabulous growth of wind and solar builds on states’ clean energy policy and corporate decarbonization targets. However, great opportunities for more new clean energy supplies to replace fossilfuelenergy need supporting grid investments. Where do we go for that modern infrastructure?
However, China will also have to fix problems that have led to an underuse of renewable capacity and a preference for fossilfuel generation on the grid. It’s going to take some serious effort to cut China’s emissions but growth in renewableenergy should make that feasible. million exports in 2023. auto sector.”
If honored, this commitment will likely unseat Canada as the worst-ranking in the G20 for international public financing to the fossilfuel sector. . This means while EDC’s overall fossilfuel support was CAD 13.6 Shifting public finance for energy out of all fossilfuels and into clean energy is an urgent task.
The Premier and her government are so focused on picking fights with Ottawa that they are missing the fact that there are now more people employed in the development of renewableenergy around the world than people working in oil and gas.
And how would that approach compare to using renewableenergy? Some fossilfuel industry proponents have pitched coupling carbon capture and storage (CCS) with the methane reforming process to limit the resulting carbon pollution. While the answers can get a little numbers-heavy, they can be really illuminating.
Last year’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) included a clean hydrogen production tax credit (known as “45V”) that is one of a slew of new incentives intended to help catalyze the next and necessary phase of advancing the nation’s clean energy transition as a whole. This won’t be a problem in the future when renewableenergy predominates.
In order to make their portfolio more sustainable and respond to lower fossilfuel demand, oil majors are increasingly snapping up renewableenergy projects as the pressure grows to take action on climate change. Many countries prefer the easier option of electrification through renewableenergy sources.
County of Monterey –a major case involving the authority of California local governments to limit oil and gas development within their borders. County of Monterey case raises important and difficult questions for both the justices and the Executive Branch of California state government.
Speaking of homes, heating and cooling a home in Canada where we see 50 degree temperature swings over the course of the year requires lots of energy. The world is moving away from fossilfuels in favour of things like new and improved heat pumps and renewableenergy sources.
Our experts will be able to provide insight on the negotiations at COP29 – including on issues related to climate finance, the energy transition and fossilfuel subsidies. The next round is due in February 2025. 30 – For more information or to request an interview, please contact: Alex Ross, media@environmentaldefence.ca
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