Finding the Way to Zero
Final report of Climate Action Network Canada’s 2021 workshop series on net-zero
-
In summer 2021, Climate Action Network Canada held workshops to open dialogues and spark conversations among civil society groups on the implications of net-zero in Canada.
-
Achieving net-zero in Canada is not only a technical challenge but also a moral and ethical one. Canada's climate action must adhere to principles of social justice, equity, and inclusion.
-
Canadian civil society groups want to see clear boundaries for the "net" in net-zero to ensure Canada reaches and exceeds its climate targets.
In summer 2021, Climate Action Network Canada – Réseau action climat (CAN-Rac) held a series of workshops to open dialogues and spark conversations among civil society groups (CAN-Rac members and allies) on the implications of net-zero in Canada. IISD was invited to report on the outcomes from the workshops on behalf of CAN-Rac.
Overall, five major discussion topics emerged from the workshops:
- Energy transition, energy mix, and fossil fuel phase-out
- Establishing boundaries for the “net” in “net zero”
- Decision making for pathway choices and priorities
- Climate and environmental justice
- Incremental change versus systems change.
A primary objective of these workshops was to identify areas of clear agreement to inform approaches to net-zero that CAN-Rac (and its members and allies) can uphold and advocate for in the coming months and years. The workshops helped identify potential new shared principles to respond to rapidly evolving conversations on net-zero domestically and internationally. Participants discussed what policy asks could support these principles, and what future activities and research might be needed to support them.
By capturing these workshop discussions, this report aims to help set the groundwork for future net-zero conversations among CAN-Rac members and allies in Canada in the months and years ahead.
You might also be interested in
New Report Finds Carbon Capture And Storage Far Too Expensive
A new report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development found carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies to be very expensive in Canada. According to the report, which focuses on carbon capture in the context of Canada's oil and gas industry, the climate solution’s persistently high costs are rooted in the "high design complexity and the need for customization."
Report finds carbon capture's 'stubbornly high' prices are likely here to stay
Canada's oil and gas industry says costly technology it plans to use to reduce its climate footprint requires more investments from the federal government. If governments lend a hand now, the industry maintains the technology will become more affordable over time as more projects proceed, but a new analysis casts doubt on that claim. "Carbon capture and storage is expensive, and the costs are not likely to come down in the timeframe needed to meet our climate targets," said Laura Cameron, one of the report's three authors and a policy adviser for the International Institute for Sustainable Development.
Carbon capture projects are too costly, have ‘questionable’ benefits, report finds
Technology the oil industry is counting on to reduce emissions–carbon capture and storage–is too expensive and difficult to deploy quickly enough to help Canada meet its climate commitments, a global environmental think tank says. Relying on carbon capture and storage to cut greenhouse gases from oil and gas production will mean large public subsidies for projects that are unable to compete on costs against expanding renewable energy sources, rendering the benefits "questionable," the International Institute for Sustainable Development said in a report released Thursday.
Building a Net-Zero World: How U.S. Finance Can Strengthen Clean Energy Manufacturing Abroad
The world needs to rapidly expand and diversify clean energy supply chains to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 and mitigate dangerous climate impacts. While some sectors, such as solar photovoltaic manufacturing, are on track to hit their 2030 targets, there are major shortfalls in the production of many other clean energy products.