During the first three parts in this series, I found that becoming a 100 per cent renewable energy region is mostly possible, but when it comes to long-distance trucking, shipping and flying it will need some technological breakthroughs, supported by regional and international cooperation.

But so what?

We could become an 80 per cent or 90 per cent renewable energy region on our own provincial efforts, and a government that chose to make it a priority could play a powerful leadership role in helping the world to tackle the larger problems that we’ll need to overcome to get to 100 per cent.

We need such leadership urgently. Climate change is already hitting communities and entire states with dramatic forest fires, superstorms, and 1000-year floods or droughts —and it’s only going to get worse. In mid-August, a senior NASA water scientist estimated that the entire state of California could run out of water within 12 to 18 months.[view:in_this_series=block_1]

“Without a few successive winters of above-average precipitation,” he wrote, “we have only enough water in storage to get through the next 12 to 18 months, and that's it.”

And the impacts we are witnessing today are the result of carbon emissions from fossil fuels and forests that were burned forty years ago, back in the 1970s. In forty years time, our children and grandchildren will reap the storms that we are priming today whenever we drive into town or turn up the oil- or gas-fired heat.

If we can’t yet get to 100 per cent, what will it take to reach 80 per cent or 90 per cent? That’s the critical question. We need major change on three levels:

LEVEL ONE: WIDESPREAD POPULAR MOBILIZATION

In spite of the growing crisis, we have not seen much climate mobilization in B.C. —nowhere near the level needed to educate voters and make stronger government action possible. The current campaigns against oilsands bitumen pipelines are the closest we get as a proxy for climate action. The Dogwood Initiative’s pursuit of a ‘Let B.C. Vote’ citizens’ initiative to demonstrate that most people do not want the Enbridge pipeline has all the indicators of success, with 211,000 signed up supporters and thousands of trained volunteers.

The secrets to their success, as well as hard work, are a black and white issue and a clear and simple ‘ask.’ Tackling climate change and achieving 100 per cent renewable energy is so much more complicated — it covers a host of issues from buildings and transportation to fossil fuels extraction, forest management, farming, and even the food we eat.

It’s kind of complex.

We don’t all need to become policy wonks to cut through the complexity, however. We just need to assemble a powerful package of actions; give it clear, strong branding; persuade prominent people and organizations to endorse it; and choose a window to launch.

With a clear ask in hand we could mobilize thousands of people to write letters, pick up the phone, and push for action. Prior to an election, we could contact every candidate to see if they supported the package, and they would use their influence to turn it into reality.

Effective mobilization to make B.C. a 100 per cent renewable energy region will need far more than a one-time shot, however. It will need a whole army of people who will continue to push for action over an extended period of time.

LEVEL TWO: EFFECTIVE ACTIONS

What kind of actions could the government embrace? We already have a small but effective carbon tax, and willing participation in the Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Fuel Standards; we have a municipal Climate Action Charter signed by 180 of B.C.’s 188 municipalities, who are moving ahead with many initiatives; and we have a carbon neutral commitment being pursued by hospitals, schools, colleges and local governments across the province. We had a government-led climate launch in 2007, but maybe we need a re-launch every three or four years, to keep us focused and on the ball.

As a beginning, the package of actions to make B.C. a 100 per cent renewable energy region might include the following:

BUILDINGS

• 20 per cent of the energy used in B.C.’s buildings could be required to be renewable by 2020, as they are requiring in Europe. We could go further, making it 80 per cent by 2025 and 100 per cent by 2030.
• All new buildings could be required to be super-efficient and zero carbon, as Britain requires by 2019.
• All existing buildings could be required to be upgraded for greater energy efficiency and zero carbon energy before sale, following the example that Berkeley and San Francisco have shown since 1980.
• All multi-unit residential buildings could be required to undergo an energy efficiency audit every ten years, with low-interest loans for landlords and condo-owners to help with the cost of a retrofit.  

TRANSPORTATION

• There could be multi-million dollar grants to local governments for progress on safe cycling and public transit, funded by an increased carbon tax and selective road-tolls.
• There could be major support for electric vehicles and EV charging infrastructure, following Norway's example, with tax-breaks, cash incentives, free parking and free ferry rides throughout the province.
• B.C. and the Pacific Coast Collaborative could embrace Europe’s ever-advancing standard for reduced CO2 from new vehicles, pushing towards zero grams of CO2 per kilometre by 2030.
• B.C.’s vehicle insurance could change to be based on the annual distance travelled, providing a financial incentive to travel fewer miles.
• Every railway line in B.C. could be electrified.
• New railway opportunities could be opened up, including the Interurban line from New Westminster to Chilliwack.
• Every trucking company in B.C. could be encouraged to join a load-sharing network to reduce costs and emissions.

ECONOMY

• There could be a steady annual increase in the carbon tax, with the new income being used to support actions that help shift our energy-use from fossil fuels to renewables, instead of being returned as a tax-break.
• The progress of B.C.’s economy could be measured in terms of Genuine Progress towards greater happiness and sustainability, alongside the existing measure of GDP, which assumes that money spent on divorce, deforestation and disaster cleanup is just as beneficial as money spent on positive activities.

FOSSIL FUELS

• All proposals for new fossil fuel pipelines and rail transportation could be rejected.
• B.C.’s coal mining and natural gas extraction industries could be steadily phased out, with support being given to retrain workers and re-invigorate affected communities.
• Fugitive methane emissions from B.C.’s oil, gas and coal industries could be taxed on a comparable basis to the carbon tax.

The full list could be much longer—enough to give all but the bravest brain-freeze. The magic is in the packaging, the endorsements, and the evidence that the actions will create jobs and direct B.C.’s economy into a better future, using renewable energy in place of fossil fuels.

We need to turn people’s minds away from the mistaken belief that without fossil fuels the economy will collapse—that “there is no alternative,” to use the infamous phrase. There is in fact a great alternative, which promises a far healthier, more resilient, more sustainable future. Maybe TIAGA! (There Is A Great Alternative!) would be cool branding.

LEVEL THREE: STRONG GOVERNMENT COMMITMENT

The third level of change that’s needed is strong government commitment, backed by MLAs and ministers who have a really good grasp of the logic, the numbers and the costs and benefits of a shift to 100 per cent renewable energy as a primary response to the climate crisis. We need to give our political leaders real confidence about the prospects for a strong green economy, so that they have the green jobs numbers and the names of B.C.’s successful cleantech companies at their fingertips when they are knocking on doors or appearing on radio and TV, along with the reasons why action on climate change is such an imperative.

With well-educated voters behind them there is so much that a committed government could do. Our province’s current actions deserve the praise they receive, which are a lot more than most other provinces are doing; but they are only the beginning of what is possible, and what is needed.

We need province-wide mobilization. We need a bundle of actions that could get us close to being a 100 per cent renewable energy region. And we need a strong commitment to leadership by the government.

It is not as if B.C. would be alone in undertaking this goal. There are businesses, regions and governments throughout the world pursuing the same goal to become 100 per cent renewable energy regions. As regions and nations begin to act together there might be even a justifiable hope that our children’s future will not necessarily be the catastrophe that otherwise awaits them.

This series originally appeared on the B.C. Sustainable Energy Association website.

Image Credit: Zack Embree

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

Is your pension fund or insurance company a leader or laggard when it comes to avoiding risky bets on the future impacts of climate change?

A new survey finds that major Canadian institutional investors — such as the Ontario Teacher's Pension Fund, AGF and Manulife Insurance — are not adequately taking into account the long-term financial risks of climate impacts. 

The survey, called the Global Climate Investment Risk, is based on data acquired from 460 funds who were invited to provide data, from members of those funds and using publicly available information. Each fund is rated from AAA to X based on investment mix and recognition of the financial risks that climate change will have now and in the future.

Conducted by the Asset Owners Disclosure Project, the survey concludes that of the 460 funds, only five received a AAA rating, while 173 funds are rated "X" — no Canadian funds received a AAA rating, while 19 were considered "X-rated."

The X-rated companies include well-known financial and government institutions such as: Royal Bank of Canada, Ontario Public Service Pension Plan, Canada Post Corporation, Quebec Teachers and the Pension Plan of Elected Municipal Officers. 

That last one should be of interest to Mayor of Vancouver, Gregor Robertson, who has been a very outspoken leader on climate change and sustainability issues.

"While we can see some leaders emerging, many haven't acknowledged their dangerous and foolhardy addiction to investments riddled with climate risk, let alone checked themselves into rehab," says Julian Poulter, executive director of Asset Owners Disclosure Project. "It's pretty clear through the Index that the big laggard funds continue to be too scared to take on big fossil fuel companies, even though they know there are enormous risks through continuing investing in them."

Sharan Burrow, a board member of Asset Owners Disclosure Project and general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, said: "A majority of the world's investment industry are clearly acting contrary to the interests of those whose money they represent — this is an outrageous situation. It must be remembered that much of the money being held by these organizations is the product of workers' lifelong savings,"

Here are the 10 best funds actively addressing the financial risks of climate change on behalf of their members:

1. Environment Agency Active Pension Fund (UK)

2. Local Government Super (Australian pension fund)

3. CalPERS (US pension fund)

4. Stichting Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn (PFZW/PGGM) (Dutch pension fund)

5. VicSuper (Australian pension fund)

6. AustralianSuper (pension fund)

7. Government Employees Pension Fund (South Africa)

8. Florida Retirement System Pension Plan

9. BT Super for Life (Australia pension fund)

10. Aviva (UK insurance company)

You can find a complete list of all the investment firms on the Asset Owners Disclosure Project website.

So where is your money in this mix?

Image courtesy of Casual Capture on Flickr

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With another round of international climate negotiations opening this week in Warsaw, Poland, and a new poll finding Canadians wanting leadership on the issue, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservative government have an opportunity to turn the tides on what has been so far a policy trend in the wrong direction.

Since taking the helm, the majority Harper government has floundered at United Nations climate events, relegating Canada to perpetual fossil of the day and year awards.

As someone who has been working in and around these international climate talks and other such global negotiations for many years now, I have witnessed first hand Canada's fall from grace. Our small country (population-wise) has historically hit well above its weight in many international forums, with a reputation for neutrality and expert diplomacy. Now, we are called a "petrostate" and a "climate obstructionist" at such talks. 

Canada has previously been a international leader on global efforts to battle environmental issues. Former Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney was an outspoken global leader on reducing Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the atmosphere and his leadership culminated in the Montreal Accord that saw 191 countries agree to phasing out ozone depleting chemicals.

Under Jean Chretien and the Liberals Canada was one of the first countries to sign on to the Kyoto Protocol to reduce global climate change pollution, with many countries following our lead. Canada's lack of performance, and in many cases outright opposition to deals on climate change, is not only being noticed by the international community, it is also starting to be noticed at home.

A poll out late last week finds that a large majority – almost 60 percent – of Canadians agree that climate change should be a top issue for the Harper government. A whopping 76 percent say that Canada should sign on to a new international agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

Beyond the evidence of the poll, a cross-country day of events planned for Canada called "Defend our Climate, Defend our Communities" suggests the country's lack of climate leadership is having its effect on the street level. 

Everyday people are hoping to rejuvenate Canada's international reputation on the issue of climate change.

And the need for this has never been more urgent as more and more extreme weather events make headlines across the globe. The atmospheric disruption and extreme weather scientists talked about almost 20 years ago when Canada signed on to the Kyoto Protocol is now "the new normal."

With climate talks starting this week and next in Warsaw, Harper and his new environment minister, Leona Aglukaqq, have an opportunity to redeem Canada's reputation. Not only would this start the country on the right path when it comes to climate change, but according to public opinion polls, a strong stance on climate by Harper would be good politics.

So what's stopping him?

Image Credit: Kris Krug via Flickr

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

Big Industry has committed some of the most atrocious crimes against the environment in Canada and around the world with little fear of reprisal. This is Part One of a two–part series highlighting some small and large-scale instances of industrial–environmental greenwashing and misdirection in an attempt to better hold conglomerates accountable to the Canadian public. Read Part 2 here.

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The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.