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So it’s not net-zero regulations then.
My guess is they will excuse gas power generation if carbon capture technologies are used… Too bad carbon capture is bullshit.
The first time I read about CCS I actually laughed out loud. Somehow I’d assumed it would make some kind of usable carbon that we could bury to augment soil, but no. They’re literally catching ~30% of the CO2 gas from an industry’s tailpipe and putting the gas underground in an “airtight” chamber.
Like, are you kidding me?
It’s a practical stopgap measure tbh. CCS is cheap
It just doesn’t do much of anything. We’re not going to reverse, or even halt climate change with it. For any industry that cannot be made green that has to continue in the future, we should obviously do it, but the claims about it by the fossil fuel industry are severely overinflated.
Fossil fuels are too important for both our economy and for basic goods (plastics…) to be eliminated.
Honestly, fuck the economy. Areas dependent on fossil fuels should have h started diversifying decades ago, but they stubbornly refused to — and continue to do so — to their own detriment. We’ve known for a long time that being entirely dependent on a single natural resource for the bulk of our jobs and trade was a bad idea: just look at the mill towns in BC when their mills closed. At how devastating the softwood lumber disputes were. It was pure hubris for provincial and local governments to push forward with continued dependence on single resource economies.
I agree that we’ll never entirely end fossil fuel use because plastics are an amazing material, but I absolutely do not agree that we need to continue fossil fuel extraction for the sake of the “economy.” This is shortsighted thinking: the “economy” will be destroyed in the longterm by climate change. Natural disasters, human displacement, crop failures, water shortages, wildfires, the list goes on and on.
Frackin’ loopholes.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
After facing pushback from Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada’s draft net-zero electricity regulations — set to be released today — will permit some natural gas power generation, CBC News has learned.
A senior government source not authorized to speak publicly said that Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault will release Ottawa’s proposed Clean Electricity Regulations on Thursday.
Remote and northern communities not connected to the main power grid, which tend to rely on diesel, won’t have to suddenly switch to solar or wind, the source said, as there would be exceptions in those places.
Meanwhile, places like Ontario and Alberta can continue to rely on natural gas power generation if they meet the proposed performance standards set out in the regulations with technology like carbon capture.
Although there will be flexibility, the source noted how cost-competitive renewables have become with fossil fuels — something the provinces and territories are expected to have to weigh as aging infrastructure reaches end of life, and considerable new investment will be needed to meet demand.
As outlined in the 2023 federal budget, it’s backed by a more than $40-billion commitment over the next decade to support Canada’s clean electricity sector through tax measures, public financing and grant contributions.
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