Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee members.
I'm a physics professor at the Université de Montréal, the scientific director of the Trottier Energy Institute and the scientific director of the Transition Accelerator.
I'll be speaking today about our work, including the “Canadian Energy Outlook 2021 — Horizon 2060” report. We used techno‑economic modelling to analyze the major transformations that Canada must make to meet climate objectives.
First, I'll set out some findings.
Some sectors, including the transportation sector, are technically difficult to decarbonize. Other sectors must be decarbonized quickly to offset the shortfall in order to meet Canada's targets.
The net‑zero emissions objective by 2050 doesn't allow for the introduction of transitional fuel. The goal now is to decarbonize all sectors. For example, natural gas isn't a transitional solution here.
The large‑scale use of biofuels isn't an acceptable solution for several reasons. These reasons are outlined in my brief, which I don't have time to read here.
Lastly, many infrastructures using oil and gas products have lifecycles of several decades. Any support for their renewal today will maintain these structures over time and create barriers to the achievement of climate goals.
In closing, I want to identify three principles for the subsidy review that build on these findings.
First, the subsidies in place mustn't support the use of fossil fuels. Instead, they must serve the social or economic objective sought. For example, if you want to support the fisheries sector, instead of funding fossil fuels, you must fund the sector directly.
Second, the subsidies must facilitate the transition to low‑carbon energy and mustn't constitute a barrier to this transition. The current subsidies are often barriers to decarbonization.
Third, the subsidies mustn't serve to maintain or increase greenhouse gas emissions and to maintain and develop new infrastructure that will contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. They must be compatible with the objective of net‑zero emissions.
I'll stop here.
Thank you.