All eyes are on the government’s forthcoming climate competitiveness strategy
“I’m the same me,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney insisted during a podcast on October 16. With a five-year stint as the UN’s special envoy for climate change under his belt, Carney may be the most climate-aware world leader of all time.
Yet since becoming prime minister of Canada in January, he has pursued an “all of the above” approach to energy policy — appearing as open to building new pipelines as he is to strengthening the industrial carbon price.
In keeping with the “all of the above” approach, renewable energy investors are likewise “feeling fairly bullish about Canada’s investability”, says Fernando Melo, senior director of federal policy for the Canadian Renewable Energy Association.
He is encouraged by Carney’s close relationship with leaders in the EU, where the carbon border adjustment mechanism rewards countries with an effective carbon pricing system and a low-emissions grid. This puts Canada in good stead for a deeper trading relationship with the bloc.
Melo also points out that procurement is under way for an estimated 17 gigawatts of wind, solar and storage across the country, representing more than $31bn in potential investment. Read more.