Thread by @T_Krawchenko

I recently gave a public talk on just #EnergyTransitions through @uviccontinuing. One of the attendees made the argument that Canada shouldn't bother decarbonizing because we're not a large net GHG contributor.

There are a lot of ways to respond this this argument - it's a common one for sure. Canada is a large per capita and historical GHG contributor. One can obviously argue that on moral/ethical grounds we should do the right thing.

But the argument that I think has the greatest persuasion against this viewpoint is that delaying investments in a net zero economy is costly - it makes no financial sense. If we don't innovate now- we'll be left in the dust.

Great article out today by @ggransaull in @corporateknight on Canada's energy transition that lays out the case.
corporateknights.com/category-clima…

A few excerpts:
"Researchers at Oxford University’s Institute for New Economic Thinking found that a rapid transition to 100% clean energy is the cheapest of all possible energy futures, yielding US$12 trillion in savings by 2070."

"A study published in the journal Nature found that Canada alone will face $100 billion in stranded assets by 2036, representing 35% of the book value of oil and gas properties for all oil and gas issuers listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange."

"Canadian energy firms and financial institutions are doubling down on fossil fuel expansion at a time when the world is moving in the opposite direction."

We know what we need to do. We need the public and political leadership and buy in to make this happen. We need regional conversations about the future of low carbon economies, their prospects and potential.

The OECD has recently predicted that Canada will be the worst performing advanced economy over the next decade…and the three decades after that, focusing largely on labour productivity. bcbc.com/insights-and-o…

Related to this, Canada's lags behind in innovation investments. While gov't funding for private R&D is relatively high, business sector R&D is low. Investments in a 'greener growth model' could be a powerful driver of competitiveness and innovation. oecd.org/fr/apropos/sec…

Again, great article @ggransaull & appreciate the work of @Re_GenerationCA!
It's high time to switch the narrative of energy transitions as being costly when in fact, delaying such investments is the greatest cost - moral, ethical, financial, environmental, inter-generational