With the House of Assembly currently meeting to go over the legislature in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, I set out to investigate what “contributing to climate change” means from a global perspective. The information can then be transferred back home to look at Canada’s involvement in the changing atmosphere.
Only when we are realistic in our national responsibilities can we look to be a leader of change on a global scale. If, as a country, we were able to consume 100% renewable energy, would the climate change conversation stop? Is our inability to become completely green inseparable from our humanistic traits to disagree?
Renewable energy: Consumption vs generation in Canada
Since 2018, six Canadian provinces and territories have been 93% renewable energy or higher when looking at electricity generation. One thing to keep in mind with these numbers is that the percentages reflect what the province uses for its electricity but do not include what each province produces to export.
Provinces such as Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Alberta contribute over 96% of the oil from the country. More than half of what we produce gets sent to the United States and Europe for profit. That being said, when there is more demand for petroleum than supply, Canada also purchases oil back from the same places when needed. These numbers continue to shift each quarter as more countries transition their infrastructure to produce renewable energy.
A “Just Transition”
Just transition: what is it? The Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Bernard Davis, uses the phrase sparingly as he says it has been “weaponized” to imply anti-oil agendas; something that scares the oil-producing companies in the country.
Instead, a just transition seeks to work towards the United Nations Climate Change Conference goals while fulfilling the employment and quality of life needs of a society. This includes finding new employment for those who work in the oil industry rather than cutting them out entirely. Oil is profitable; however, the current climate change agendas and pledges set by such committees of the United Nations say there will be an end to the fossil fuel era if we want to continue living on a healthy planet.
Therefore, as well as cutting down on carbon emissions, we can benefit from anticipating the new landscape in the present. The goal for a just transition in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador is to prepare infrastructure with training programs and employment that will prepare for this shift in priorities. However, with so many jobs currently in the oil and gas industry and so many countries relying on the resource, it will take years.
Electricity isn’t the only thing that needs renewables
The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts growth in oil demand will plateau by 2030. This prediction is calculated through the current oil demand trends over the last few decades, paired with the hope of transitioning to a Net Zero Emission future by 2050; a very optimistic standard on a global scale, but a necessary one.
It is also important to note most statistics deal with renewable energy in terms of Electricity Generation. “Net zero carbon emissions” will also take into account how we heat our homes and our transportation. This means the conversation cannot stop at electricity alone; the automotive industry is the main consumer of oil and gas. Further advancement of electric cars and green transportation options are needed for a transition away from non-renewables.
Whether or not there is still a debate as to how we got here, there are a few things we can be sure of…
For one, the burning of fossil fuels adds greenhouse gases to our atmosphere. Those greenhouse gases cannot easily be taken away except through ecological processes, something we are also ridding the earth of through deforestation, among other things. The more greenhouse gasses we add to the atmosphere, the more of the sun’s heat gets trapped underneath, and it will continue to warm the globe. However, we are continuing to learn and converse. We need to keep learning and discussing policy changes that can better the environment and ourselves together, not separately.
A Look Around
It’s hard to convince ourselves that we are at the edge of irreversible damage to our global ecosystems in a place such as Canada, where the geography feels endless.
Right now in Canada, in 2024, it is very easy to walk outside and see trees, agriculture, and animals, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem. The scale of the problem happens over multiple human lifetimes, so it is hard to perceive destruction in the life we are given, but we must do our part.
As an individual, it is hard to force change on a global scale. We should not feel guilty about the entirety of climate change if we are forced to use one plastic fork, but we are responsible for understanding our place in the problem.
We don’t all have to become ecologists, but even through cooperation, we can look to bring policymakers to our neighbourhoods to empathize with the necessary transitions. We can keep learning with governing bodies to form policies. Most importantly, we must continue to ask ourselves what’s most important in this world.
Community Involvement
Friday’s For Future St. John’s is a youth organization fighting for climate action. The organization pressures governments to listen to the current best science opinion to set standards for reducing the effect human activity has on the climate. The next planned strike is set for April 19th, 2024. For more information, check out their socials.
