There’s a school of thought that, when it comes to fighting climate change, the notions of a greener future and strong economic growth are irreconcilable. These are the people who insist you can’t have your cake and eat it, too. Others insist you can have it all, and that it’s indeed possible – if not paramount – to have both a healthy planet and a healthy economy.
Executive Director
Mannkal Economic Education Foundation
From the outside, it appears that COVID-19 has reshaped the contours of Australian energy and climate policy. Superficially, there is much that appears relevant to Canadians: a functional form of federalism, attempts to resolve the climate policy wars, and serious consideration of a trans-continental natural gas pipeline. These developments would have been unimaginable as recently as January 2020; however, the economic impact of COVID-19 and the need to accelerate decision-making has shifted long-entrenched positions and removed layers of bureaucracy from sclerotic processes.
For six months, the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has superseded all other public policy priorities. Governments placed their economies in a state of suspended animation, buttressed their health care systems, and pushed trillions out the door to help citizens weather the storm. But other policy problems are not going away. Indeed, COVID-19 has exposed and deepened many cracks in the system. As countries reopen, governments and multilateral institutions are grappling with what comes next, and how to reverse what the IMF estimates will be a five per cent contraction of the global economy in 2020.
One of the most important issues in the 2019 election was Canada’s energy future. There was intense debate on issues such as carbon taxes, pipeline siting and the balance between environmental concerns and the economic benefits associated with fossil fuel development. These issues were especially important in western Canada, characterized by strongly differing opinions between the Prairies and British Columbia.
On Wednesday, June 15th 2022, from 8:30AM to 5PM, the ISSP and Positive Energy will host a conference featuring a variety of speakers and industry representatives to discuss the findings of our latest research. This conference will be held in person at the University of Ottawa and offered virtually.
From Monday, May 31 to Thursday, June 3, 2021, Positive Energy hosted a virtual conference exploring the roles and responsibilities between and among public authorities making decisions about Canada's energy future in an age of climate change. The conference convened senior leaders from business, government, Indigenous communities, civil society and the academy for a series of online, interactive, 1-hour sessions.
On March 18 and 19, 2021 the 4th Annual First Nations Major Projects Coalition Industry Engagement Event hosted the Indigenous Sustainable Investment Conference. uOttawa Positive Energy is a supporting partner of the event and contributed to the FNMPC’s recently released report on ESG.
Featuring Keynote Speaker Mark Carney, Vice Chair of Brookfield Asset Management and Head of ESG, and Chief Terry Paul, Membertou First Nation, the two-day virtual event will bring together Indigenous communities from across Canada with government and project finance sectors for focused expert discussions.
On Wednesday, June 15th 2022, from 8:30AM to 5PM, the ISSP and Positive Energy will host a conference featuring a variety of speakers and industry representatives to discuss the findings of our latest research. This conference will be held in person at the University of Ottawa and offered virtually.
A new study from the University of Ottawa’s Positive Energy program examines the work of the Ecofiscal Commission of Canada, an organization that aimed to depoliticize the debate about carbon pricing in Canada by using one specific tool: infusing the debate with non-partisan, academically rigorous research and evidence.
This Positive Energy study explores limits to consensus-building on energy and climate—specifically limits that flow from partisan politics. It identifies key drivers and events that have contributed to the polarization of certain energy and climate issues along partisan lines, and offers advice for decision-makers looking to navigate polarized contexts on the way to net zero by 2050.
New survey results from Positive Energy and Nanos Research evaluate how Canadians perceive the level of public consensus on a number of climate and energy issues. The survey asks Canadians about the current level of agreement on these issues, as well as the level of agreement relative to five years ago.
Professor Monica Gattinger, Chair, Positive Energy was a speaker at the Oil Sands Pathways to Net Zero - How Do We Get There? conference, by the Canadian Global Affairs Institute
