How to Make the Canadian Energy Sector Sustainable
What actions can be taken to make the Canadian energy sector sustainable?
To make the Canadian energy sector sustainable, several actions can be considered.
Firstly, breaking monopolistic supply chains for critical materials such as lithium and rare earths is crucial to ensure fair access and support decarbonization efforts. Secondly, to overcome the barriers of climate change denial, it's important to recognize the economical advantages of renewable energy sectors, such as job creation, over fossil fuels, and understand the need for early investments in sustainable energy resources to avoid the 'energy trap'.
Developing renewable energy sources like solar and wind, which have reached a point of being more efficient than fossil fuels, will help market forces gravitate naturally towards more sustainable options. Furthermore, countries that diversify their energy sources can increase resilience against natural disasters and other disruptions, demonstrating the importance of a stable and diverse energy supply.
Lastly, any transition to sustainable energy requires a clear strategy to address the intermittency of renewable sources, the development of sufficient energy storage systems, and management of up-front costs. It's also essential to develop specific plans for global governance to protect planetary resources and deal with climate change consequences, ensuring that economies are sustainable without relying on growth.