This piece by @merransmith & Mark Zacharias raises important Qs about possible opportunity costs of more LNG in BC: how we best use our clean electricity. vancouversun.com/opinion/mark-z… It's not an argument against electrifying any additional LNG (incl a possible 2nd phase 1/ #bcpoli @merransmith of LNG Canada), which would be essential to having any hope of achieving the province's climate targets, but rather raises the Q of whether BC cld do this AND electrify other industries, not to mention heat for buildings & a rapidly growing # of EVs. We will only be able to 2/

"CAPP must do a much better job of talking to the investment community about its own net-zero goals, & the industry’s swath of investments in clean & emissions-reducing technologies.”
The problem isn’t the storytelling, it’s the story.
Let’s start with net zero goals.
1/ #cdnpoli None of CAPP’s members have goals aligned with the Net Zero Standard for Oil & Gas, which is backed by >20 global investors with ~$10 trillion of assets under management. greenbiz.com/article/whats-…
Why not? They refuse to include the pollution from burning their product.
2/

Yes! —> "Canada needs a new breed of corporate champion, & clean energy is the place to look” But I’d expand the definition of “clean energy” beyond renewables to include efficiency & zero emission end use technologies. We already have champions, but... 1/ theglobeandmail.com/business/artic… most aren’t big & they’ve been focused more on growing than headlines & PR. Companies like @innergex_ine @BErenewables @PowerGreengate @Clirrenewables @NRStorTweets & @MorganSolar, @ecobee & @getmysa, @LionElectricCo @hydrogenics @BallardPwr @Proton_Canada @e3metalscorp & the 2/

The only way hydrogen might serve as anything other than a short-lived “lifeline” for O&G in Canada is if there is laser-like focus on producing the cleanest H in the world. bloomberg.com/news/articles/… Slapping carbon capture & storage on SMR (“blue”) hydrogen isn’t... 1/ #cdnpoli …going to cut it given the significant upstream methane emissions from O&G production theglobeandmail.com/business/artic… Need step-wise changes in tech, e.g. @Proton_Canada nationalobserver.com/2020/07/14/new… Canada needs clean hydrogen to help decarbonize the “toughest third” industrial… 2/

A timely #ResilientRecovery piece. It’s notable how Europeans (Germans especially) are considering their stimulus/recovery plans: “The decision on what policies to support shouldn’t be purely based on deep economic analysis, but it should also take into account …" 1/

https://twitter.com/aradwanski/status/1274343812240998400

“...future trajectories and needs.” bloomberg.com/news/articles/… Relative to 2008-09, “This time there’s one big opportunity and one big enabler: The opportunity is to build competitive advantage in new industries; the enabler is cheap debt.” 2/

Well this is a demonstrably bad take. There are a multitude of ways—other than raising the price on carbon pollution—in which the gov’t can deliver a green recovery without micromanaging “winning” technologies. Contrarianism for the sake of contrarianism is just lazy. 1/ #cdnpoli

https://twitter.com/ddyedlin/status/1267291571809955840

Building codes set energy performance benchmarks. Ditto vehicle emission standards. But gov’t, through stimulus, can enable more retrofits and more clean vehicle sales. The same goes for various industrial sectors—cement, steel, etc. Nobody is suggesting picking specific tech. 2/

EU green recovery package sets a marker for the world amp.theguardian.com/environment/20…
What would this look like if Canada adopted the same scale of ambition & investment?
A thread (converting Euro to & scaling to GDP)… 1/
#ResilientRecovery #cdnpoli #shovelworthy $10-13 billion to boost electric vehicle sales and a doubling of investment in charging networks

$15 billion/year in grants and guarantees for renovations such as rooftop solar panels, insulation and renewable heating systems - including plans to offer green mortgages
2/

Canada moves up a rank to 15th, but clearly not in the leading pack in creating conditions for renewable energy investment: ey.com/en_gl/recai The US has supplanted China as the most attractive destination, with strong post-pandemic potential. reuters.com/article/us-glo… 1/ If anything, the fact Canada moved up a rank is surprising given political changes in ON & AB that have brought outright hostility toward & general disinterest in renewables, respectively. Canada has a relatively clean grid, >80% non-emitting, but we have been lagging in... 2/

What makes a stimulus investment “shovel worthy”? We @cleanenergycan laid out some criteria:
How many jobs are created/$ invested? Are they secure jobs in sunrise industries w post-stimulus opps? 1/
cleanenergycanada.org/canada-can-tak… @AaronWherry #cdnpoli #ResilientRecovery #shovelworthy @cleanenergycan @AaronWherry Would the investment capitalize on or spur Canadian innovation that might give us a competitive advantage? Would it help create or benefit an existing Canadian supply chain?
What are the prospects for leveraging private sector capital? 2/

An interesting piece on Stelco theglobeandmail.com/business/artic… by @willis_andrew - the co says it plans to upgrade to become the “most efficient” steel producer in N. America. But I can’t find any details about what this means. This could be important #climateaction or a big 1/ #cdnpoli @willis_andrew missed opportunity. The #oilsands & coal-fired power get the headlines, & dominate the top-15 emitting facilities (2018 data open.canada.ca/data/en/datase…) in Canada. But the 3 facilities from Ontario that crack the top-15 are steel producers, including Stelco. 2/

Interesting read on fate of automakers post-COVID. But the fact it mentions a “cash for clunkers” bailout scheme & worries about the continuation of EV purchase incentives misses the obvious: a “cash for clunkers” w the $ going to EVs. economist.com/briefing/2020/… #cdnpoli 1/ i.e. a “cash for clean for clunkers” program - already being bandied about by EU business.financialpost.com/pmn/business-p… & in Germany (where carmakers appear on board) electrek.co/2020/04/20/ger… Back in 2009 Canada had a scrappage program “retire your ride” - if one emerges in 2020 it ought to 2/

“Shovel-ready” is important (but perhaps to a lesser degree with a staged resumption of economic activity), but projects also need to be “shovel-worthy”—aligning with other priorities & goals, including #climateaction (as @cathmckenna understands better than most) 1/ #cdnpoli

https://twitter.com/BCheadle/status/1250558760965353474

@cathmckenna As Stewart Elgie @SP_Inst has written, we need to act short-term but think long-term—this is a once-in-a-generation investment, so consider it through the eyes of our children. What will build a better Canada for them? macleans.ca/economy/econom… As @merransmith & I wrote… 2/

While gov'ts remain rightly focused on containing #COVID19Canada & providing support to Canadians whose livelihoods have been impacted & to #cdnbiz we also need to begin planning for stimulus & recovery. @merransmith & I have an op-ed out today that 1/ nationalobserver.com/2020/04/08/opi… …lays out how we ought to approach the role of energy in our economy: we need to reorient & rebuild our energy sector with a focus on #CleanEnergy As @tomrand notes “looking in the rearview mirror is not the best way to gauge where you’re going.” The oil patch won’t return to 2/

Agree 100%. We need to focus on how we can build a better, more resilient Canada.
What principles should underpin stimulus & ongoing recovery efforts?
1. Sufficient in size. Success requires that the scale of support matches the scale of the challenge. 1/ #cdnpoli #covid19Canada

https://twitter.com/br_haley/status/1244259106619359233

2. Sustained in duration. Recovery won’t happen overnight, so our support can’t disappear overnight & must reach all corners & Canadian—no region or Canadian will be left behind. 2/

I find myself agreeing with both @bruceanderson & @rolandparis - I come at this as somebody who relies upon the Int’l Energy Agency’s annual world energy outlook, which includes multiple scenarios (no predictions, no forecasts). Every year the vast majority of media coverage 1/

https://twitter.com/rolandparis/status/1245722484399378433

@bruceanderson @rolandparis …oversimplifies, chooses a scenario & describes it as a forecast. It gets amplified by those who would like that scenario to be reality (from columnists to companies). The IEA’s attempts to get media to correctly report on their methodology, assumptions & all scenarios is... 2/

In the midst of a pandemic, Trump saw fit to rollback vehicle emission regulations shared by Canada. That’s the way he rolls, spurred on by opportunistic auto & oil lobbyists. If our federal gov’t doesn’t act, his weak regs will be our’s too. 1/ #cdnpoli

https://twitter.com/cleanenergycan/status/1245046132188667904

..as @joannakyriazis says, the current regulations were a no-brainer, requiring automakers to build increasingly clean, efficient vehicles. They deliver cheaper commutes, cleaner air and help fight climate change. 2/

A thread on the prospects of an oil patch bailout:
We can’t forget that the oil patch & its lobbyists have consistently resisted & fought fair & robust #climateaction policies. They are now seizing on #COVIDCanada to argue for delay or dilution of these policies. 1/ #cdnpoli The @IEA makes the case that the oil & gas sector can & must play a critical role to play in #EnergyTransition iea.org/reports/the-oi… (I’m convinced in theory, but skeptical based on evidence & experience to date).
So any federal bailout MUST have strings attached that compel 2/

"Albertans not clamouring for energy sector bailout amid oil price plunge” theglobeandmail.com/report-on-busi…
Interesting to read Fraser Institute alum & now Kenney War Room staffer Mark Milke’s bravado circa 2015 in which he makes the case for why the oil patch #cdnpoli #ableg #abpoli 1/ would NEVER entertain a bailout like the auto sector got in 2009. "sending taxpayer $ into failing co's can't change the overall dynamic of an industry affected by a worldwide decline. That recognition is why no serious observer out west…” 2/

Salient @cleanenergycan @abacusdataca polling results from a few months ago.
How should Jason Kenney respond to the #EnergyTransition - Albertans & Canadians generally agree, the focus should be on shifting the economy away from its dependence on oil. 1/ #cdnpoli #abpoli #ableg @cleanenergycan @abacusdataca In terms of how Justin Trudeau should respond, there’s more of a split. Albertans, by a very slim margin, want him to help protect & grow the oil sector. Canadians, meanwhile, strongly favour the PM offering help for workers to build new opportunities. 2/ #cdnpoli #abpoli #ableg

"Lougheed's public investment in the #oilsands was far from support for an existing industry...it was a strategy that used the public wealth generated by the existing industry to unlock new and different resources in the province.” 1/ #ableg #cdnpoli cbc.ca/news/canada/ca… This is a must-read by @S_HastingsSimon informed by her must-read research published last year: policyschool.ca/wp-content/upl…
As a born & raised Albertan I believe the province can "get the lessons right” from Lougheed & successfully navigate the #energytransition 2/

Some context given Teck’s decision to withdraw the Frontier #oilsands mine. "As the IEA noted in a recent report, “no oil and gas company will be unaffected by clean energy transitions, so every part of the industry needs to consider how to respond.” 1/ #cdnpoli #energytransition Companies like Shell, BP and Equinor are diversifying into energy companies, investing in solar and wind, batteries, hydrogen and electric vehicle charging. It’s also notable that each has withdrawn from Canada’s oilsands. fircroft.com/blogs/why-big-… 2/