Half measures won’t get us off the starting line in global race to net zero

It seems like it is now every day that we get international signals that climate action is happening much quicker than expected. The last month saw Shell being forced by a Dutch court to cut carbon emissions by 2030, Germany forced by a court to adopt more ambitious climate measures to protect future generations, climate activists securing two seats on the board of ExxonMobil, the world’s foremost corporate climate denier, and Chevron shareholders backing scope 3 (downstream and indirect) emissions cuts against the recommendation of its own board. Even the International Energy Agency (IEA), an organization of oil-supplying countries, reported no investments in new fossil fuel production should go forward in a net-zero emissions world. In complete contrast to the global momentum, the opposition is as anachronistic as ever. The Conservatives unanimously moved in the House of Commons that “replacing oil and gas with more environmentally sustainable options is not technologically or economically feasible.” This is not supported by best available science. A century ago in the world of horse-drawn carriages, those who bet on the automobile were called "visionary to the point of lunacy." In 1980, AT&T, the landline company, commissioned McKinsey to predict cellphone usage in the United States 20 years into the future, by 2000. The consulting group opined that cellphones would be a niche market and their uptake estimate was 99 per cent off. Every time humanity has gone through a big technological change, those who had built their fortune, expertise and power from the technology that was being replaced opposed change and tried to delay it. That is very predictable. Sometimes it is by setting ambitious goals or approaching a problem from a different perspective that we can spark possibilities beyond our imagination. In fact, according to the IEA’s comprehensive energy roadmap for government actions, a world’s first, we can rapidly boost clean energy and reduce fossil-fuel use, creating millions of jobs, increasing economic growth and keeping net zero in our reach. Indeed, the renewable energy, electricity, and electric vehicles sectors are robust and grew solidly, despite the pandemic. Canada must focus on the safe bets. On the economic front, where other countries are committing to pivot, Canada flashes meekly. The federal budget’s announcement of mandatory climate-related financial disclosures standards for Canada’s Crown corporations doesn’t compare to France and New Zealand which are legislating mandatory disclosure in the markets and Biden’s recent sweeping executive order on the matter. Last March, the U.K. central bank’s monetary policy was amended to ensure growth will be “environmentally sustainable” and “consistent with the transition to a net zero economy." Our own central bank governor indicated he does not intend to follow suit. Two years after the Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance’s recommendation that government “clarify the scope of fiduciary duty in the context of climate change," the government has still not acted. It leaves unaddressed worrisome reports of Canada Pension Plan investments in fossil fuel corporations abroad that are trying to undermine local decarbonization efforts, putting at risk climate stability and the retirement savings of over 20 million Canadians. If, as Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland stated, the government believes that “we need to see climate action as just a pure, hard economic question, a question of the sustainability and international competitiveness of the Canadian economy," then more action is necessary if we wish to stay in the race. Doing more starts with urgently legislating a federal net zero framework of action. Bill C-12, the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, will hopefully be passed before Parliament rises, which will be no small feat for a Senate that until recently was known for killing or opposing environmental legislation. Will Canada finally get it right on climate? Rather than focus on what is probable, let’s focus on what is necessary. As one energy expert observed, the Stone Age didn’t end because they ran out of stones; it ended because better technologies were developed to meet humanity’s changing needs. Likewise, the age of fossil fuel won’t end because we run out of oil and coal. Every day, more mothers, children, seniors, businessmen and even senators rise to take a stand for our future and life itself. This is the most powerful, renewable and unpredictable energy of all. We have everything needed to lead, let’s find the courage to do it. Rosa Galvez is an environmental engineer, an independent senator sitting on the Senate's National Finance Committee, and sponsor in the Senate of Bill C-12, An Act respecting Transparency and Accountability in Canada's Efforts to Achieve Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions by the Year 2050, the first ever government-introduced climate accountability law in this country which sets a framework of action from now to 2050. The Hill Times