Pembina Institute

Study: Canadian cities need to accelerate green transportation and urban design

Canada's six largest urban areas are making efforts to reduce greenhouse gas pollution, but they must do more to promote green urban design and low-carbon transportation choices, according to a report released today by the Pembina Institute.

The report, Canada's Coolest Cities, examines what the urban areas of Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver are doing to encourage low-carbon transportation choices, such as walking, cycling, taking public transit and travelling shorter distances. Read More

Let the sun shine in

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has released two new roadmaps — Solar Photovoltaic Power & Concentrating Solar Power — suggesting that solar power could provide up to 25% of global electricity production by 2050. The Pembina Institute's Tim Weis blogs about the findings and the policy shifts required to fully realize solar power's potential. Read More

Canada trailing pack in race for clean energy future

The Pembina Institute's Clare Demerse gives us the highlights of the new report, Measuring Up: Benchmarking Canada’s Competitiveness in a Low-Carbon World,  from the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE).

Canada ranks just behind the U.S. and finishes ahead of Italy and Russia. France, Germany and the U.K. take the top three spots. So while our government is adamant that we must harmonize Canada's climate policies with the U.S., there are actually much better role models among our G8 peers.

Link to the post on the Pembina Climate Change website. Read More

The geography of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions

The Pembina Institute's PJ Partington has crunched the numbers and come up with some interesting insights regarding the discrepancy between Alberta's contribution to GHG emissions and to economic growth.

What jumps out right away is that Alberta is responsible for over half (52 per cent) of Canada's emissions growth since 1990, despite being responsible for only 18 per cent of GDP growth and 19 per cent of the growth in population. Combined with Saskatchewan, the two provinces account for an astonishing 74 per cent of national GHG growth, but only 20 per cent of Canada's GDP growth and 19 per cent of population growth.

Link to the post on the Pembina website Read More

Pembina reacts to Kerry-Lieberman climate bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Danielle Droitsch, Director of U.S. Policy for the Pembina Institute, made the following statement in response to today's unveiling of theAmerican Power Act by Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman:

"With today's announcement of the Kerry-Lieberman bill, the national political leadership in the U.S. continues to advance serious and detailed proposals to cut greenhouse gas pollution, meet emission targets and create thousands of new clean energy jobs.

"This makes an unfortunate contrast to Stephen Harper's government, which continues to talk about targets without having produced any plan to meet them. Instead, Canada's government has adopted a 'wait for the Americans' approach.  Read More

Gulf spill exploited to paint oil sands green

In the wake of the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice has joined Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach to beat the drum for the oil sands. Prentice recently portrayed the oil sands as a less environmentally risky alternative to offshore drilling. The Pembina Institute's Danielle Droitsch takes Minister Prentice and Premier Stelmach to task for "using their positions to sell the oil sands" rather than acting "as stewards to province's resources, ensuring responsible development of the oil sands and proper regulation of oil sands operators." She concludes:

The Gulf oil spill is not an opportunity to claim the oil sands are something they're not - safer, cleaner or more secure. The spill should serve as a grave reminder of what can happen if oil is not developed responsibly. Moreover, the spill should set in motion a cleaner, carbon-free energy future, where we don't depend on risky, environmentally damaging fossil fuels at all.

Link to posting on the Oil Sands Watch website. Read More

Climate Change and the Integrity of Science

The Pembina Institute's PJ Partington gives us the highlights of the letter in defence of climate research from 255 members of the U.S. National Academy of Science. The letter was published in the May 7, 2010 issue of the journal Science. You can read the full text of the letter here.

Society has two choices: We can ignore the science and hide our heads in the sand and hope we are lucky, or we can act in the public interest to reduce the threat of global climate change quickly and substantively. The good news is that smart and effective actions are possible. But delay must not be an option.

Read More

False claims highlight Alberta's inadequate GHG regulations

Provincial regulations have no material effect on growing emissions from oilsands

OTTAWA, ON - The Government of Alberta yesterday made false claims about greenhouse gas emissions from the province's major industrial polluters. The claims were included in a government news release and backgrounder (1) detailing results from provincial greenhouse gas regulations for the year 2009.

"It is simply unacceptable for the government to make claims of emission reductions that do not correspond to reality," said Matthew Bramley, Director of the Pembina Institute's Climate Change Program. "The government's exaggerations may be its attempt to respond to criticism from at home and abroad. But instead of overselling its fundamentally flawed regulations, the government needs to focus on developing a serious plan for real reductions in the province's greenhouse gas pollution." Read More

Climate Change Accountability Act passes third reading

With Bill C-311, the Climate Change Accountability Act, passing third reading in the House of Commons, AEN groups reacted to this historic event.

Matthew Bramley, Director of the Pembina Institute's Climate Change Program said:

By passing the Climate Change Accountability Act today, a majority of MPs have voted for strong, science-based action on climate change. This groundbreaking bill would set a target for Canada's 2050 emissions that lines up with our G8 commitments and with U.S. legislation, and would require the government to move immediately to put in place the policies needed to get on track towards that target.

And according to the Sierra Club's John Bennett:

The passing of the Climate Change Accountability Act is a huge victory for climate change policy in Canada. The environmental movement has supported this Bill from its inception as one of the strongest piece of climate change legislation in Canadian politics.

Read More

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