Members of B.C.'s Kanaka Bar First Nation stand in front of a solar installation. Photo by Andrew Wright
The pre-eminent solution to the climate crisis lies first in greening the power sector, then electrifying everything. An essential part of this clean transition lies in establishing a system of energy procurement that promotes decarbonization while contributing to economic development.
New research by Simon Fraser University’s Clean Energy Research Group (CERG) suggests we draw from the private and local ownership models of B.C., Quebec and Norway to combat the climate crisis through power procurement regulation.
Canada is taking some bold steps on climate. The federal and B.C. governments have announced climate action plans (here and here) that will take effect over the next 30 years with the goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. The scary news is that even modest adoption scenarios require the scale of electrification to be massive, and the infrastructure requirements to support these demands have yet to register with governments and citizens alike.