THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MUST DELIVER ON ITS PROMISE OF STRONG CLEAN ELECTRICITY REGULATIONS
The Federal government is developing rules intended to make Canada’s electricity grid emissions-free by 2035. These Clean Electricity Regulations would require power suppliers to phase out polluting electricity generation, like gas power plants, and deploy reliable, affordable renewable energy. This is an essential element of Canada's climate plan.
Renewable energy like wind and solar can now produce cheaper electricity than gas in most provinces, including Alberta and Ontario 1. Switching to clean electricity will save Canadians money.
Already, Canada is falling behind when it comes to deploying more renewable energy 2. Additionally, some provincial governments and fossil fuel companies are pushing hard to weaken the rules. Now, more than ever, the federal government must hold its ground and strengthen the Clean Electricity Regulations.
In 2022, wind and solar made up less than 7 percent of our total electricity production. That puts Canada behind more than 70 other countries, as well as the averages of the G7 and G20 countries.
This summer, the government will determine the ambition of these regulations. Now is the time to add your voice.
The government must strengthen the regulations to:
- Include interim targets that gradually get more stringent to push the power sector to reach net-zero emissions before 2035.
- Ensure that no gas plant operates after 2035 except in real emergencies.
- Make it clear that gas plant operators will pay the full carbon price for every tonne of CO2 released beginning in 2030.
- Close the loopholes that let gas plants use carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. CCS has failed in the power sector and no gas plants worldwide have successfully used it. This approach is costly and ineffective, so Canada should not pursue it.
Send a letter to Prime Minister Trudeau and Environment Minister Guilbeault demanding they deliver on their electoral promises3 and provide strong regulations to move Canada to a clean electricity system!
1 https://cleanenergycanada.org/report/a-renewables-powerhouse/
2 https://ember-climate.org/app/uploads/2024/05/Report-Global-Electricity-Review-2024.pdf
3 During the 2021 federal election, Prime Minister Trudeau promised to introduce a “Clean Electricity Standard that will set Canada on a path to cut more emissions by 2030 and to achieve a 100 per cent net-zero emitting electricity system by 2035.”