Pembina Institute's Climate Change News

New analysis compares U.S. and Canadian investments in sustainable energy in 2010 (media release)

Tim Weis — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Pembina's analysis shows the U.S. is set to outspend Canada nearly 18:1 per capita on renewables, and more than 8:1 per capita overall on sustainable energy programs and projects in 2010.

Pembina Reacts to Alberta competitiveness review (media release)

Chris Severson-Baker — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Albertans, the owners of the province's oil and gas resources, were completely left out of the process of reviewing Alberta's royalty rates, says Chris Severson-Baker, Policy Director for the Pembina Institute.

Comparing U.S. and Canadian investments in sustainable energy in 2010 (publication)

Tim Weis — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Pembina's analysis of Canadian and American budget documents shows the U.S. is set to outspend Canada nearly 18:1 per capita on renewables, and more than 8:1 per capita overall on clean energy programs and projects in 2010.

Pembina Reacts to 2010 Federal Budget (media release)

Tim Weis — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000

The 2010 federal budget could hardly do less on renewable energy and climate change issues, said Tim Weis, Director of the Pembina Institute's Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Program.

Pembina representative available for comment on federal budget (media release)

Tim Weis — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000

A policy expert from the Pembina Institute will be available for comment and analysis following the release of the federal budget on March 4.

Pembina Reacts to 2010 Speech from the Throne (media release)

Matthew Bramley — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Matthew Bramley, Director of the Pembina Institute's Climate Change Program, said today's federal Throne Speech fails to clearly signal an improvement in the government's poor track record on climate change and investment in the clean energy economy.

Pembina Reacts: British Columbia Budget Encourages More Gas Than Green (media release)

Matt Horne — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Matt Horne, Director of British Columbia Energy Solutions for the Pembina Institute, made the following statement in response to the British Columbia budget tabled today:

"Fresh off the Olympics, British Columbians were looking for big strides toward a clean energy economy. But continued carbon tax loopholes combined with oil and gas subsidies amount to a near $700 million lost opportunity in these investments."

Climate News: The week in review (blog)

PJ Partington — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:38:26 +0000

Conservative MP Maxime Bernier (Beauce) raised a lot of eyebrows this week by declaring himself a climate change skeptic in a letter to the Montreal newspaper La Presse (the full English version is here). In doing so, he also applauded the government's go-slow approach to reducing emissions.

How would we respond to an equal threat that wasn't called climate change? (blog)

Marlo Raynolds — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:52:14 +0000

If you have lived in Alberta and worked on environmental issues as long as I have, you get pretty used to being asked, "Man-made climate change is not real — how can you still believe in it?" Because that myth seems to be getting so much traction lately — and because of what's at stake if those who spread misinformation about climate change convince our governments that inaction and indifference are acceptable — I want to share how I approach such conversations.

Climate News: The week in review (blog)

Julia Kilpatrick — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 20:46:24 +0000

Canada's performance at the recent UN climate conference in Copenhagen came under scrutiny again this week, after an internal Chinese government report was leaked to British newspaper The Guardian. The report said Canada played a "conniving" role in trying to convince other countries that its level of ambition on climate change would be adequate, and claimed the US-led "umbrella group" of nations - of which Canada is a member - adopted a "position of inaction" at the international climate negotiations. As Mike de Souza reports for Canwest, federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice rejected those allegations, stating, "We were not conniving," and pointing at China's reluctance to allow international monitoring of its own progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

But the Chinese government isn't alone in thinking less of Canada in the wake of the U.N. climate summit.

Globe columnist exaggerates significance of errors by climate scientists (blog)

Matthew Bramley — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:25:47 +0000

As a longstanding advocate for stronger Canadian greenhouse gas reduction policies, it's frustrating to see so much misleading journalism being published on the science of climate change.

Globe and Mail columnist Margaret Wente's contributions are unfortunately a case in point, notably her discussion on the Globe website yesterday.

Schwarzenegger carries torch for tough auto emissions standards (blog)

Dan Woynillowicz — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:42:16 +0000

Olympic organizers announced California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, singer Michael Buble and famous dad Walter Gretzky will all serve as Olympic torch bearers when the flame arrives in Vancouver. As a kid growing up in Calgary, I got to experience the 1988 Winter Olympics firsthand and I'm amazed at all the glitz and glamour now associated with the games. Within the context of the big show I can understand Buble and Gretzky's participation given their national reputation, but the inclusion of "the Governator" left me scratching my head... at first.

Congress vs. Parliament: Who will decide Canada’s climate policy? (op-ed)

Marlo Raynolds — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Marlo Raynolds argues that the real challenge for Canada's Prime Minister is whether he is able to create a made-in-Canada climate plan — or leave it to American lawmakers to decide our climate and, therefore, economic policy.

EnCana's $31-million free pass: why we need to put a price on pollution (blog)

Matt Horne — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:34:00 +0000

Imagine making a New Year's resolution to lose ten pounds and then heading to the store to stock up on chips and chocolate bars. Sound nonsensical? That's because it is — and the B.C. government's approval on Jan. 28 of EnCana's Cabin Gas processing plant in the province's northeast corner isn't much better.

Climate News: The week in review (blog)

Julia Kilpatrick — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:27:08 +0000

The top climate story this week started with a speech Environment Minister Jim Prentice delivered in Calgary on Monday. In it, he presents a bundle of mixed messages - identifying the oil sands as a public relations problem while calling on the oil industry to clean up its act, and labelling Quebec's new regulations on vehicle emissions standards "one of the most glaring examples of the folly of attempting to go it alone," while ignoring similar measures already adopted or under consideration in many other regions. (Ironically, as Mike de Souza points out, draft legislation indicates that the federal government is planning to implement similar vehicle emissions standards by summer.)

Hitched to U.S., Canada's going nowhere fast (blog)

Matthew Bramley — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:57:02 +0000

When Environment Minister Jim Prentice announced that Canada's last greenhouse gas emissions target would match the U.S. target of 17 per cent below the 2005 level by 2020 (equivalent to a two per cent increase over the 1990 level) he stated that "Canada and the United States have the same level of ambition and that we will be moving forward in concert with an identical base year and an identical target."

I can think of no other area of policy where Canada's official position is "do whatever the Americans do." So why on climate change?

Canada's main sources of greenhouse gas emissions (publication)

Matthew Bramley — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:00:00 +0000

This backgrounder outlines, in table format, the top sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Canada, based on 2006 data and compared to 1990.

Canada's lost decade on climate change (op-ed)

Marlo Raynolds, Rick Smith — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Three consecutive environment ministers under Prime Minister Stephen Harper have failed to implement a single major policy to cut our growing emissions.

Climate News: The week in review (blog)

Julia Kilpatrick — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:49:40 +0000

This week's top climate stories focus on what the next steps should be as Canada and the world move forward to address climate change.

Speaking in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper laid out a G8 and G20 agenda for this summer's summits that places little emphasis on climate change. At a round-table discussion later in the day, other world leaders criticized Harper for comments that justified delaying action on climate change for economic reasons, the CBC reports.

Pembina recommends ways to strengthen B.C.'s carbon tax (media release)

Matt Horne — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:00:00 +0000

The B.C. government should strengthen its carbon tax in the 2010 budget, according to a set of recommendations released by the Pembina Institute.