Intelligence Memos: 2024 in Review
To: Our Faithful Readers Date: January 2, 2025 Re: Intelligence Memos: 2024 in Review Intelligence memos are a key way C.D. Howe Institute researchers share their insights about current events. And 2024 had no shortage of material: Canada’s healthcare struggles, housing affordability, the Bank of Canada’s inflation fight, a host of questionable fiscal policies from Ottawa and the […] Werner Antweiler – A New Generation of Biofuels Will Play a Key Role in the Energy Transition
Published in The Globe and Mail. We may be entering the age of the electric car, but biofuels will still be an important tool in the fight against climate change for years to come. Most Canadian cars will run on conventional fuel for the foreseeable future, allowing Canada to take advantage of this latest generation […] The 2024 Year in Review
With 2024 almost behind us, Michael Hainsworth shares some of the CDHI podcast’s most fascinating interviews and policy conversations during the course of a tumultuous year. Featuring: Wilbur Ross, Conrad Black, Martha Hall Findlay, John Baird, John Manley, Jason Kenney, John Tory, Mitzie Hunter, Rosalie Wyonch, Jane Philpott, Michelle Alexopoulos, Jeremy Kronick, Heather Evans, A.J. […] Graph of the Week: Canada Becomes Temporary Net Electricity Importer Amid Shifting Energy Dynamics
In 2023, the long-standing pattern of Canada exporting significantly more electricity to the United States than it imports began to shift, and Canada became a net electricity importer for three months earlier this year. Exports fell as lower hydropower generation from drought conditions in Canada and lower natural gas prices in the United States made […] Scaling Up: The Promise and Perils of Canada’s Biofuels Strategy
Canada has great potential to produce biofuels to aid in the transition to a low-carbon economy, but developing the full potential requires using sustainable feedstocks and driving down production costs. Canada’s biofuels industry is evolving from first-generation fuel, made from sugar crops, starch crops (e.g., corn), oilseed crops (e.g., soybean, canola), and animal fats, […] Charles DeLand – Inhibiting Investment: Don’t Let the Oil and Gas Emissions Cap Limit Canada’s Prosperity
To: Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven GuilbeaultFrom: Charles DeLandDate: November 12, 2024Re: Inhibiting Investment: Don’t Let the Oil and Gas Emissions Cap Limit Canada’s Prosperity Ottawa’s latest climate initiative – a cap on oil and gas emissions – is like bringing an excavator to plant flowers. […] Charles DeLand – Stop Playing Whac-A-Mole with the Oil and Gas Sector
Published in the Financial Post.
Ottawa’s latest climate initiative – a hard cap on oil and gas emissions – is like using an excavator to plant flowers. It’s unnecessary, expensive and likely to do more harm than good. With more than 70 federal climate policies already in place, adding yet another layer of regulation is clearly unnecessary. And this one poses serious risks to Canada’s economy.
Despite having already imposed several climate policies on the oil and gas sector, the government doggedly plans to implement yet another: a sector-specific cap-and-trade system in which a fixed maximum number of emissions will be traded. The goal is to reduce 2030 emissions down to 35 percent below 2019 levels and then align the…
Colin Busby – Bill C-59: Is Canada Setting Back Sustainable Investment Opportunities for Green Investors and Pension Funds?
From: Colin Busby To: Investment watchers Date: October 17, 2024 Re: Bill C-59: Is Canada Setting Back Sustainable Investment Opportunities for Green Investors and Pension Funds? Canadian policymakers aim to attract more investment, especially from large international and domestic pension funds. These investors pursue opportunities globally, and competition is fierce. They seek the best returns that consider various risks, […] Graph of the Week: Surging Canadian Energy Exports Fuel Trade Growth Post-2020
Graph of the Week is a new series from the C.D. Howe Institute’s Graphic Intelligence that presents valuable and easily digestible data. Each Monday we unveil one new captivating chart or graph with interesting insights, explaining it in two-to-three sentences. Dive into the data with us.Canada’s economy benefits from its significant trade in energy products, […] Eyquem, van Dijk and Stewart – A Clear and Overdue Path to Accounting for Natural Assets in Canada
From: Joanna Eyquem, Peter van Dijk and James K. StewartTo: Canadians Concerned about Recognizing and Valuing Natural AssetsDate: September 24, 2024Re: A Clear and Overdue Path to Accounting for Natural Assets in Canada Devastating wildfires and floods this year have highlighted the risks arising from the lack of public accountability for natural assets in Canada. […] Grant Bishop – We need repeal, or a provincial challenge, to hasty and overbroad new Competition Act greenwashing rule
From: Grant BishopTo: François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry of Canada, cc: Matthew Boswell, Commissioner of Competition; Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada; provincial attorneys generalDate: September 20, 2024Re: We need repeal, or a provincial challenge, to hasty and overbroad new Competition Act greenwashing rule Since the blowback to […] Don Drummond – Let’s Hope for Solid Hit from the PBO’s Third Swing at Carbon Tax Analysis
From: Don DrummondTo: Carbon tax watchersDate: September 18, 2024Re: Let’s Hope for Solid Hit from the PBO’s Third Swing at Carbon Tax Analysis The “corrected” analysis by the Parliamentary Budget Office of the carbon tax and rebates is due soon. One hopes it will get more things right in this third crack at evaluating the […]