None of this is surprising based on the fall budget and Alberta MOU, of course, but still disappointing. To be clear, "position[ing] Canada as both a clean energy leader and a conventional energy powerhouse" is, by definition, not a transition, but that's the world the feds are living in right now.
There is also a noteworthy rhetorical divide between the "energy sector" and the "net-zero sector" (or even the "low-carbon aligned sector"). Why are they not the same thing? Should our energy not be net-zero?
Unlike the 2023 Interim #SustainableJobs Plan, which had 10 concrete goals, this new "plan" has no measurable targets or aspirations. There is no way to evaluate progress.
So it appears that there are literally zero new policies, targets or approaches in this "plan." It is a 75-page press release summarizing the government's previously stated economic agenda without offering anything new for workers or climate action.
Lots of overtures to labour, but the language is evasive. Suggestions to "encourage recipients to consider unionized labour" is not the same thing as applying labour conditions to federal funding.
It's immediately hard to stomach the claim that the Pathways #carboncapture project will simultaneously "contribute to Canada’s broader energy transition" while "sustaining a strong conventional energy sector." We already know which lane this government picked, and it ain't the #JustTransition lane.
The feds quietly released the 2030 #SustainableJobs Action Plan this week as required under the Sustainable Jobs Act. At a glance it reads like a press release for the government's current economic agenda, hoping to find some genuine new policies for advancing pro-worker climate action...
Whatever their broader benefits, data centres are clearly a lose-lose proposition for the communities that host them. By @hadrianmk.bsky.social #climatecrisis #canlab @policyalternatives.ca
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...
“a typical size data centre in that state employs 50 workers, with half of those usually contract workers employed in security, maintenance and janitorial work.” www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... 1/
Very disappointed to see the EV mandate in Canada being dropped.
Based on recent and ongoing work modelling EV adoption I expect this will slow EV adoption in Canada through lack of vehicle availability. 1/
www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
The federal EV mandate is officially dead. Instead, we get a basket of incentives that may or may not actually reduce emissions from the transportation sector. www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news...
Don't miss this, next week! @policyalternatives.ca Senior Researcher focused on climate change, @hadrianmk.bsky.social, will be speaking. Details here: globeandmailevents.com/futureofauto...
There is a time for pragmatism, but there is also a time for idealism. What time is it now? By @hadrianmk.bsky.social #ClimateAction www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...
"AI will solve Canada's productivity crisis"
"AI will solve the climate crisis"
"AI will prevent the next pandemic"
"AI will strengthen democracy"
"AI will expand access to education"
idk seems like it's usually doing the opposite so far?
"It’s a catch-22—the more we rely on AI tools, the more we need to be able to critically assess their outputs. Yet the more we use them, the worse we get at doing so." www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...
"We are at a crucial societal juncture for artificial intelligence. And to arrive at an AI-saturated world that actually serves the public interest, we need a clear-eyed view of what artificial intelligence is and is not."
My latest with Rachel Pettigrew: www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...
When Carney became prime minister, many in the climate community (and beyond) wondered if he understood politics as well as he did $$.
Turns out that was the wrong thing to worry about.
My latest for @thewalrus.ca
thewalrus.ca/no-matter-wh...
This strikes me as a bit of a straw man. The climate movement has been hammering on a wellbeing-focused clean energy build out for many years (eg. Green New Deal). The problem is that FF supply hurts renewables investment, and the political power of FF interests actively blocks cleaner alternatives.
We are at the stage of the energy transition where we have to invent new terms for structurally weak oil prices.
I'll be on @cbcradiocanada.bsky.social's Just Asking today (alongside @rjcsmith.bsky.social) to talk pipelines, climate and the future of the Canadian economy. We're taking calls from across the country at 4pm ET! Join us!
www.cbc.ca/radio/justas...
Look out BC! China’s LNG demand drops for 13th month running. Last week, Pakistan cancelled a huge contract to purchase LNG from Qatar (even choosing to pay a penalty) because they no longer need/want it -- the solar revolution is quickly displacing demand for LNG.
financialpost.com/pmn/business...
If you think a SECOND federally-backed oil pipeline in ten years is going to make the #AB #UCP suddenly support carbon pricing and climate action, I've got some bad news for you.
When it comes to grand bargains negotiated with Alberta to advance climate action, this is a "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me" sort of situation.
Other stuff I wont comment on thats outside my wheelhouse (impact of tankers etc). But on the whole very disappointing MOU that has a whole lot of backpedaling and climate delay. (Reminder that climate delay is the new climate denial and in 2025 leads in effect to the same outcome).
There will be more to say, but for now worth remembering what happened the last time the feds struck a "grand bargain" with #AB. The only thing left over from that deal to get #AB support for climate action is the #TMX pipeline.
Gov statement (not the MOU itself) says the deal will "lower emissions." Almost certainly false when the #1 stated objective of the MOU is "increasing production of Alberta oil and gas." Emissions intensity ≠ total emissions. It's well-worn sleight of hand.
Indigenous Peoples/rightsholders mentioned 19 times, but no indication Indigenous folks were actually involved in this MOU. Guarantees of "meaningful consultation" and "economic opportunities," but no mention of consent.
Potentially interesting layer to this onion: #AB gets big #AI data centre build-out, but those data centres are powered in part through electricity transmission from #BC? Details unclear, but more integrated electricity grids is something industrial policy experts have been hammering for years.
Making the "lowest carbon intensity produced barrels of oil in the world" is fundamentally incoherent. If you care about climate change, you know there's no long-term role for oil. If you don't care about climate change, low-carbon oil is a waste of money.
Also, "creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs" is an absurd and meaningless claim. The O&G industry is shedding jobs aggressively. A new pipeline will, in a best case scenario, sustain a few thousand jobs in the broader industry over the long term.
