The misidentified problem statement of Canada’s 2030 Emission Reduction Plan

By: Anna Hardie In March 2022, the Government of Canada released its 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan, a report outlining Canada’s next steps for meeting annual emission reduction targets towards 2030. In order to reach 2030 reduction targets, emissions are broken down annually across eight economic sectors including oil and gas, transportation, heavy industry, and buildings….

A Closer Look at Canada’s Net-Zero by 2050 Commitment

By: Sean Cameron Canada joined other nations in committing to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 when it passed the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act in 2021. These commitments signal that governments around the world recognize the urgent need for stronger action to mitigate the effects of climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has definitively stated that…

The Russo-Ukrainian Conflict: How Clean Energy Emerged as a Foreign Policy Tool

By: Sophia Stavropoulos On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with the situation continuing to escalate. The Russo-Ukrainian conflict has seemingly brought the democratic world together as countries join in support for Ukraine and condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions. In response, Western countries, including the famously ‘neutral’ Switzerland, have imposed…

The CANDU Attitude: Expanding Nuclear Energy Capacity in Canada

By: Nicholas Johnstone In the summer of 2020, the province of Alberta joined with Saskatchewan, Ontario, and New Brunswick in a commitment to research and eventually develop small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). These provinces did this amidst heightening social pressure to combat climate change and in light of the growing need to find energy solutions that…

Canada’s COP26 Emissions Reduction Pledges

By: Sean Cameron Canada entered the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow as one of the highest per capita greenhouse gas emitters in the world, with the largest increase in emissions of any G7 nation since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2016. Earlier this year, the federal government released A Healthy Environment and A Healthy Economy plan,…

A Resource Gap: Why First Nations Need Access and Authority Over Water

By: Sophia Stavropolous Indigenous communities in Canada have long faced a lack of access to safe drinking water. Since 2015, the Liberal federal government has invested $5.2 billion towards clean water and eliminated 119 long-term drinking water advisoriesin First Nations communities, yet many continue to have boil water advisories in place.  To properly address this issue, it is imperative that…