Climate Change is Our Generation’s Single Greatest Challenge
March 24, 2023
The fundamental elimination of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced through human activity is a transformative moment in human history.
Atlantic Canada needs to work collaboratively and with urgency in planning for the economic implications and consequences associated with the transition to ‘net-zero’ emission levels.
The Challenge of Eliminating Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Atlantic Canada
Recent severe weather events globally, across North America and here in Atlantic Canada remind us of the vast environmental, economic, and societal impacts associated with climate change.
Ryan Mulligan, the Professor of Civil Engineering and Director of the Beaty Water Research Centre at Queens University wrote recently that “Climate change means Atlantic Canada will see more frequent storms”. He adds “Hurricanes don’t usually maintain high wind speeds as they make their way toward Atlantic Canada. But ocean warming may be linked to the increasing intensity of storms like Fiona”.
In September 2022 Fiona achieved the lowest ever atmospheric pressure (931.6 mb) recorded by a tropical storm making landfall in Canada.
Hurricane Fiona is a stark reminder of the tragic and catastrophic impacts of climate change here in Atlantic Canada. Accumulated damages and residual economic impacts are estimated by government and the insurance industry to be in the $2 to $4 billion range. The impacts, and costs, continue to accumulate, and it will take years to repair the damage to our human and natural environment.
In many cases, the destruction is permanent, as evident by the recent closure of historic Pictou Lodge in Nova Scotia.
While Nova Scotia and New Brunswick remain national leaders in reducing GHG emissions and are on track to meet the Government of Canada’s commitment to achieve a 40-45% reduction in 2005 GHG emission levels by 2030, the path to ‘net zero’ will require an unprecedented effort.
We are at a critical point in our region’s history.
All four Atlantic provinces have established dedicated climate change policies and action plans, with commitments to reach ‘net zero’ by 2050, or sooner in the case of PEI – 2040.
The on-going escalation of the minimum national price on carbon pollution, rising by $15 per tonne per year from $65 per tonne in 2023 to $170 per tonne by 2030, is increasingly influencing our energy costs… and choices. The recent introduction of the federal Clean Fuel Regulations and the pending introduction of the federal Clean Electricity Regulations will have an incremental, and transformational, impact on our region’s energy systems.
Complicating this transformation is the fact that Atlantic Canada has the highest reliance on refined petroleum products in Canada, with a predominately rural, dispersed population.
Energy accessibility and security remain key concerns.
How our region produces and uses energy will need to rapidly evolve and incorporate transformative new carbon-free energy technologies, some of which do not even exist today. Other technologies, such as small modular reactors and clean hydrogen, are still in the development stage.
How individuals, families, businesses, and industries use and pay for their energy is facing a period of radical transformation.
Atlantic Canada’s Vast Clean and Renewable Resource Development Potential
While climate change presents an unprecedented environmental and economic challenge for Atlantic Canada, we have the potential and capacity to accelerate the decarbonization of our energy systems.
Our region has vast clean and renewable energy development potential in areas such as onshore and offshore wind, low carbon intensity hydrogen development for both domestic and export markets, and the commercial application of small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear technologies.
Atlantic Canada also has access to large-scale hydroelectricity capacity and rapidly evolving distributed generation assets throughout the region. Localized energy assets such as solar installations, district energy systems, micro-grids, biomass boilers and geothermal applications can also play an increasingly important role in our region’s energy systems.
Marine renewables, smart grid, small modular reactors, green hydrogen, and the proposed Atlantic regional transmission loop initiative provide important benchmarks or examples with respect to the region’s capacity to innovate.
All three levels of government (federal, provincial and municipal) are currently facilitating energy efficiency investments and supporting the transition to carbon-free transportation and space heating solutions, primarily focused on electrification or the use of electricity to replace refined petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel and heating oil.
The Government of Canada’s recently released 2023 budget also provides a toolkit and catalyst for investing in a new clean energy economy, including “a set of clear and predictable investment tax credits, low-cost strategic financing, and targeted investments and programming”.
A Call to Action
Atlantic Canada’s clean and renewable energy development potential is vast.
However, we urgently need a plan that leverages our region’s existing energy assets while supporting the sustainable and affordable decarbonization of our energy systems.
We need to act quickly and act with purpose is shaping a viable regional path to ‘net zero’ greenhouse gas emissions. The threat of climate change is real, as exhibited by Hurricane Fiona.
Atlantic Canada must continue to reduce emissions through leadership in energy efficiency, non-GHG emitting electricity and energy generation, and our ability to store and move clean and renewable energy around the region, including the proposed Atlantic regional transmission loop project.
The path forward will require innovative energy policies, technologies, energy systems, utility models, and regulatory practises, and a much higher level of public and private-sector cooperation and collaboration.
As four relatively small provinces with a population of just over 2 million people, we also need to find new and innovative ways to work together.
It is also important to recognize that the viability of emerging clean and emerging energy technologies continues to evolve. Windows of opportunity with respect to the global adoption and commercialization of these technologies are rapidly opening and closing. This is an important consideration if Atlantic Canada hopes to maintain its status as a leading Canadian energy exporter.
Finally, Atlantic Canada needs a strong regional voice in our nation’s capital, Ottawa. The federal government needs to understand the opportunities and challenges facing Atlantic Canada and the decarbonization of our energy systems. Our federal political leaders and senior government officials need to understand the uniqueness of our issues and support practical and viable in-region solutions.