Author: Dr. Roger Gibbins & Dr. Kari Roberts
Canada’s Power Play is the culmination of a series of energy sector consultations across western Canada. Roundtables were held in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba in April 2008 to take the pulse of western Canadian energy sector experts and stakeholders on the subject of energy policy in Canada. A rough consensus emerged among participants concerning Canada’s energy priorities, the need to address climate change when designing energy policy in Canada, and the need to strike a fair and regionally respectful balance between environmental and economic sustainability. Put simply, the economy should not be compromised by action on climate change and regional differences should be taken into account.
This report identifies ten themes that emerged from the roundtable consultations, and that should inform energy policy discussions in Canada. The report argues that the time has come to articulate Canada’s energy goals and to design a Canadian Energy Strategy that incorporates the interests and strengths of all of Canada’s provinces and major urban centres, and asks provinces, cities and the federal government to work together to identify priorities, coordinate policy development and integrate their climate change and energy policies. Canada cannot achieve its energy goals without ensuring their design and implementation are national in scope. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s vision of Canada as a clean energy superpower is one that demands a clean energy strategy; it will not be achieved by default.
The report argues that a Canadian Energy Strategy should:
coordinate federal, provincial, territorial and municipal energy policy initiatives; these inter-jurisdictional consultations about our national energy goals must occur quickly, decisions must be made, and be put to Canadians, in a reasonable timeframe;
establish hard energy production targets across a range of energy sources (e.g., wind, solar, nuclear, oil, natural gas, coal, hydro) for both domestic consumption and export that go beyond dealing with GHG emissions and develop policy scenarios for meeting these goals;
be compatible with and inform a national climate change strategy;
be broad in scope, moving beyond regulation and beyond singular initiatives such as carbon capture and storage;
take into account both international realities and the need for continental policy coherence;
recognize the potential social and economic costs associated with transforming our energy needs/demands;
stress energy conservation, with market-based incentives to encourage both conservation and the more general behavioural changes necessary to animate an effective climate change strategy;
send appropriate price signals to incent change (e.g., putting a price on carbon through a cap and trade system or a carbon tax);
recognize the need for public investment in research and technology; and
be built for the long haul, recognizing that many aspects of an effective energy strategy may take years, decades and even generations to accomplish; strategies must be designed to help us make the transition from where we are today to where we want to be.
The report notes the increasingly blurred lines between energy and climate change policy and recommends that, while governments have made strides toward setting climate change goals, these are, and should be recognized as, distinct from energy goals. If our goal is to become a clean energy superpower (a designation that implies efforts to address climate change, to be sure), then we must decide what we will use this status for, the kind of energy we want to produce, how much we need, where it will come from and at what cost, and then set the appropriate timelines.
Climate change has arguably influenced the desire to “go clean,” but we must keep our eye on the energy policy ball and set goals that will enable us to use our energy capital to be global leaders, promote our values, and produce energy in a way that is best for Canada. Western Canadians are not unduly concerned about a Canadian Energy Strategy, provided that such a policy is truly national (as opposed to federal), recognizing provincial policies as integral components and taking into account regional differences in energy circumstances. In short, not any old strategy will suffice; if we wish to avoid a crisis in the federation, economic pain, energy supply shortfalls and rising GHG emissions, we must get it right.