THIS WEEK

Why CO2 emissions are rebounding fast, how lockdown could reimagine our cities, and how to make a whole country coal-free

ELECTRIC BUSES

Will Canada catch the electric bus?

Globally, electric buses displaced an estimated 270,000 barrels of diesel per day last year. They improve air quality and slash carbon emissions. Canada is also home to four prominent electric bus manufacturers with customers across the continent. Electrifying public transportation is exactly the sort of smart solution we need: one that supports Canadian companies alongside our climate efforts. 

To that end, the federal government has committed to getting 5,000 zero-emission buses on the road in the next five years. Transit agencies from Vancouver to Edmonton and Toronto to Montreal are adding electric buses to their fleets. But transit agencies still need support to make the switch.

We asked transit authorities and experts across the country what they needed to get those electric-powered wheels in motion. The findings are presented in a new Clean Energy Canada report. As we begin the economic recovery from COVID, investing in transit—and electric buses—is a key part of building a more resilient Canada. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape our public transportation systems to be both safer and less polluting.

Ignoring the signs

If one could simplify clean stimulus into an analogy, it might be this: a crossroad where we can invest in clean measures down one road or prop up the status quo down another. This survey of central bankers, finance ministers, and ­academics reads like a pretty large stop sign at the start of Status Quo Street. Meanwhile, this Bloomberg study about rapidly falling renewable energy and stimulus points to a much easier ride down Clean Stimulus Avenue. But it appears many economies are ignoring the signage: Vivid Economics has updated its “green stimulus index” finding that, worldwide, “government responses have largely failed to harness this opportunity.” 


Germany’s road to recovery

Of course, reality is more like a complicated, interconnected series of junctions and decisions. Germany, however, appears to be navigating the road to recovery better than most (indeed, Germany’s latest stimulus announcements aren’t yet included in the stimulus index above). Not only has it announced that all gas stations should have electric vehicle charge points, but it’s also introducing a new €7-billion green hydrogen strategy


The rebound

The drop in carbon emissions during the global lockdown has been alarmingly short-lived. CO2 levels are rebounding rapidly according to a new study. Despite global emissions dropping 17% in early April compared to 2019 levels, they’re now only 5% below last year's benchmark. As the study’s author put it, “we expected emissions to come back, but that they have done so rapidly is the biggest surprise.”


Reimagining our cities

The lockdown has reshaped our lives. For starters, many commutes are a matter of metres these days rather than kilometres. And if the trend continues post-pandemic, it could be an opportunity to reshape our cities to be more climate- and community-friendly. Andy Yan, an urban planner in Vancouver, has an idea to “crush the commute and also create a network of neighbourhoods” where work, home and shopping are much closer together.


Infrastructure projects not to be missed

It’s not just city planning that could be reimaged post-COVID. Here’s a CBC piece on “five green infrastructure projects engineers recommend to boost COVID-19 economic recovery.” If you get jazzed about infrastructure, tune in for electric vehicle charging, water management, energy efficient buildings, plus better roads, tunnels and bridges, as well as old mine cleanups. 


Diversifying Alberta’s economy

As the Alberta government officially shuts down Energy Efficiency Alberta—the program designed to cut emissions “by helping consumers and businesses cover the cost of more energy-efficient equipment and installations”—the province might consider other ways to reduce carbon pollution while diversifying and strengthening its economy. “Green income trusts,” like the income trusts that boosted the oil industry by providing tax breaks in the early 2000s, are one way it could support and build its low-carbon industries.


Fighting racial inequality in clean energy

There is no doubt that there is racial inequality in the clean energy sector. And as clean energy becomes an increasingly important part of the economy, the problem will only grow alongside the sector unless we act now. Here’s a piece from Inside Clean Energy on racial inequality in clean energy, with suggestions for how we can fight it.


Britain goes coal-free

A decade ago, 40% of the U.K.’s electricity came from coal. Now it’s been coal free for almost two months. And so far this year, renewables in the country have generated more power than all fossil fuels put together—another first. The dramatic shift means that the few remaining coal power stations in the U.K. can be decommissioned over the next few years.


Extreme weather costs more than you think

Researchers in the U.K. and New Zealand have come up with a new way to determine how much costlier climate change made previous extreme weather events, finding that US$67-billion of Hurricane Katrina’s US$90-billion bill was associated with climate change. When the costs are factored in, economic arguments for climate inaction look weaker than ever.

Our new private Facebook group is now live! Join and share the group to connect with and support fellow Canadians powering our sustainable future.
IMAGE & MEDIA CREDITS: TransLink
Clean Energy Review is a weekly digest of climate and clean energy news and insight from across Canada and around the world.

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