Thank you.
My tri-council funded research focuses on the deployment of clusters of renewable energy innovations in communities in Canada and on nearly every continent.
I think that Canada can reach its 2030 targets, which are only eight years away, to uphold its pledge made to the UNFCCC if we follow the evidence on our fastest, cheapest options, which also improve social and economic benefits.
Critical and technologically viable opportunities for decarbonization include electrification of transportation; deep energy retrofits to buildings, which can reduce energy use by 50% to 80%, including heat pumps; and the rapid scale-up of waste heat capture for heating and cooling processes in cities and industrial districts.
To dramatically scale up heat pumps and electric transportation, we need to quickly scale up renewable electricity generation and new distribution and transmission technology to get this renewable electricity to where it's needed.
Peer-reviewed research shows that over the course of at least 50 years, public and private sector funding for research, development and deployment of nuclear and fossil fuels has been in orders of magnitude more than funding for renewable energy in Canada. Current reporting tells us that the fossil fuel sector is receiving $14 billion per year from governments, while renewable energy is receiving less than $1 billion in funding over four years. If we spent on renewables the way we spend on fossil fuels, we could direct financial regulatory knowledge and administrative resources towards our best possible pathway for meeting both our 2030 and our 2050 targets.
A dramatic increase in renewable energy is possible, as there have been tremendous technological advances. For example, renewable energy has become the cheapest option on the market, including compared to coal. Combining renewables and adding flexibility like load balancing and demand response can reduce the cost of storage.
According to the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development and the International Energy Agency's “Clean Energy Technology Guide”, there are at least 38 technologies, including a range of renewable energy technologies, that are market ready and could be scaled immediately with the right supports.
According to my own research and analysis, Canada is not supporting these proven technologies to the extent needed to meet our climate goals. It will be an achievement to provide transmission to cities for electrification of vehicles and growth of population, buildings and industry. However, with the right mix of policy instruments that are regulatory, economic and knowledge-based, as well as administrative support for programs and support for communities to participate meaningfully, we can rapidly diffuse renewable electricity and empower communities, whether urban, rural or indigenous. This can be done in a socially and economically just manner.