Strategies

Canada’s economy is tied to our energy riches. We have vast supplies of inexpensive electricity, we are the world leading source for uranium – the key ingredient in generating nuclear power, we are the third largest producer of gas, and the Alberta’s oil sands represent the second largest proven oil reserve on the planet. How we develop and steward our energy resources will have a defining impact on our communities, our domestic economy and Canada’s brand in the global community for years to come.

If we look across the Canadian landscape to understand how we are stewarding our energy future it is clear that a patchwork of policies, regulations and incentive programmes are emerging at local and provincial levels. Each jurisdiction brings their own definition of the energy challenges and opportunities they face, coupled with their own remedies and prescriptions. While different jurisdictions have spawned innovations in policies and services, it has been difficult for companies to manoeuvre through the diverse and rapidly changing terrain.

Over the years, attempts to forge a national vision for Canada’s energy future have ebb and flowed in tandem with concerns about climate change, rising oil prices, declining energy supplies and excitement about innovations in renewable energy. Recommendations from both public and private sector led initiatives have ranged from creating a national energy policy to setting a clear and consistent price on carbon. But due to any number of political, economic or timing issues, the efforts to address Canada’s energy future have been haphazard and diffuse.

What will it take for us to recognize our strategic advantage and act in a concerted way to create a stable and sustainable energy future for this country? How can we harness our leadership, innovation and global position to build an energy system that protects our long-term resources, supports our social well-being and reduces our ecological footprint What role will different levels of government, the private sector, academic institutions and civil society play in reforming and strengthening our energy future?

Canada’s population is dispersed across nearly 10 million square kilometres - the world’s second largest country by area. The country is held together by an integrated and diverse network of rail, road, marine and air transportation that links isolated communities in the polar North to urban centres along the 49th parallel to outposts on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The Canadian transportation network is so central to the survival of Canadian communities, that the “last spike” of the transcontinental railway came to symbolize the founding of the nation.

When we think about our ecological footprint, we often think about the green house gases we emit driving a car. According to Environment Canada, emissions from transportation make up 27% of Canada’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with cars and trucks accounting for 12% of the total.

But when entrepreneurs think about transportation, they think about the incredible opportunities that exist in innovating new technologies that will reduce GHG emissions – for example, electric cars, city buses running on hydrogen fuel cells, high-speed passenger trains, urban public bike sharing programs, or hybrid ships, just to name a few. They also think about how to move people and goods differently, how to allocate road space for multiple users, how to plan cities to maximize walking, biking and transit use or how to design harbours to be models of sustainability.

Transportation touches each aspect of the Canadian economy and is the lifeline to Canadian communities. Carbon Talks profiled the innovators who are promoting greener transportation alternatives and assisted municipalities and regions in identifying transportation plans that reduce greenhouse gas emission and stimulate economic growth.

Worldwide, the clean technology sector is massive and growing, particularly in China, the US, India and Brazil. By 2020, the industry is predicted to be the third largest industrial sector in the world. Recognizing the economic and employment opportunities, governments have started to implement policy and investment changes to capture the economic and environmental benefits of the clean energy sector.

Denmark, a long-time leader in wind energy, derives 3.1 per cent of its gross domestic product from renewable energy technology and energy efficiency, or about $11.6 billion US. China has moved into the number two spot with clean technology accounting for 1.4 percent of it’s GDP and earning $64 billion. The growth of the clean tech sector in China is growing at 77 percent per year according to a 2011 report commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund.

And in 2009, the US government committed 66.6 billion to green stimulus funding and have experienced growth in clean technologies of 28 per cent per year since 2008. Canada’s federal government lags well behind in investment in clean technology committing less than $1 billion to its development. Yet, despite the lack of public support federally, clean technology is a growing sector in the Canadian economy. In British Columbia, 200 clean tech companies provide over 8,000 jobs and represent over $1billion in revenues. In Ontario, the numbers climb to 2,800 environmental industry companies generating $7 billion in revenue and employing over 65,000 people. If we look at projections for the country on a whole, the clean technology sector is expected to grow 117% from 2010 to 2012.

Carbon Talks recognized the role of the clean tech sector in increasing Canadian global competitiveness. We worked with others to create an enabling environment for clean technology to flourish. We profiled the leaders and their innovations and we supported policies that will strengthen Canada’s position as a demonstration centre for clean technology products and services.

Green finance straddles every component of the financial sector - from retail to corporate banking, asset management to insurance, sub-dept to venture capital and everything in between. While most financial institutions have at least dabbled in green finance, some firms make it the focus of their business. What we have yet to fully realize, however, is the enormous potential of this new sector as an agent of change in the transitioning to a low-carbon economy.

As with any innovative sector, new competencies and understandings need to be developed, nurtured, and standardized in order to create a level and secure playing field. Traditional financial evaluation criteria like repayment schedules and return-on-investment terms do not always accommodate the unique concerns and core strengths of the green sector. Research into standards and accepted systems that quantify the  value created by energy savings and carbon reductions is fairly new in Canada and more work needs to be done to identify financial tools that have emerged to address the unique needs of the green sector.

Working with financial institutions, venture capital funds, governments, utilities and pension funds, Carbon Talks sought to profile innovative financing models that accelerate the transition to the low-carbon economy while developing solutions to address the barriers to growth for this sector.

Look out your window. Chances are good that your view includes buildings, roads, trees - and perhaps if you are lucky - a garden, a park or an open field. Unless you live in the forest, along a shore line or at the end of farmers’ field, you live in an environment constructed to serve the economic, social and environmental needs of your community.

The “Built Environment” refers to the spaces we create to accommodate human activity with the physical environment – be they villages, cities or industrial parks. They include the transportation systems, the infrastructure, the commercial buildings, the houses, the churches and art galleries, the parks and all the spaces in between. How these spaces are designed and how they function have a great impact on our health, our sense of community, our livelihoods and our environment.

Buildings are a significant component of our built environment.  In Vancouver alone, buildings account for 55% of the City’s total green house gas emissions. Municipalities and developers around the world, recognize that moving to greener buildings makes perfect sense, both economically and ecologically. With large-scale, integrated systems, improvements in building sustainability translate into major reductions in GHG emissions and energy bills and can also contribute to major upgrades in quality of life.

Roads, public transit, bike paths, marine routes, walkways, air and rail lines move people and goods in, out and through the built environment. In Canada, transportation accounts for 22% of our GHG emissions. Efforts to introduce energy efficient vehicles, redesign road space allocation to encourage alternative transportation methods, develop new air, ship and rail systems that rely less on fossil fuels, and encourage public bike sharing programs are among some of the initiatives that have emerged to lower the carbon footprint of our transportation system.

The Built Environment was one of the key programme areas for Carbon Talks. Whether it’s convening developers and architects with city planners in developing a plan for carbon neutral buildings in Vancouver by 2020 or working with engineers to plan the best way to move goods and people through a city, Carbon Talks recognized the importance of our built environment and the role that cities and municipalities can play as change agents in the transition to the low-carbon economy.

As oil prices increase, the pressure for corporate environmental responsibility mounts, and environmental regulatory regimes become more unpredictable, some companies are taking control and moving out in front of consumers and governments to develop their own carbon management strategies. Outdoor retailers for example, have developed an Eco-Index which includes carbon management as part of a full life-cycle product assessment, Walmart has developed procurement practices which include carbon considerations and Coco-cola and Unilever have initiated a pilot project with the World Business Council on Sustainable Development to reduce carbon in their value chain.

For many retailers, their supply chains are global and complex. Managing the carbon in these supply chains involves many partners, processes and policies. Although many companies can identify where their carbon resides, there are significant hurdles at the local, cross-industry and global level to overcome. Fortunately, there are also a number of tools and initiatives that have emerged to help companies measure, manage, disclose and ultimately reduce carbon in their supply chain.

Carbon Talks convened dialogues to develop sector wide approaches to supply chain carbon management. Working with existing businesses associations, Carbon Talks helped businesses identify best practices, develop approaches to policy, research, and communication and build leadership capacity.