I'll start by saying that in 1988, James Hansen presented to the U.S. Senate that the world was warming. That was almost 40 years ago.
Photovoltaic solar was invented in the fifties and was deployed in satellites in outer space and in little hand calculators. The drive to reduce emissions and to deal with climate change gave rise to R and D in the commercialization of these technologies, but very quickly we've seen what happens when you have learning curves and you deploy manufacturing at scale and those costs drop down. We have costs that are 95% cheaper on batteries and solar.
I would say the climate was really the initial catalyst. The economics made it a better option in a lot of cases, and now the geopolitics are making it strategic. Those are the geopolitics we're seeing with the oil shock and how that's driving things. Look up what's going on in Korea. The other thing is what's happening with China dominating that industry.
When we talk about the competitiveness imperative for Canada, that's what we mean. Right now, I don't think, as you were saying, there really is a choice between the environment and economic development. I would agree with the 50% of people who voted that those things should go hand in hand, but because of the drivers and the idea that technologies have been developed that are superior from a cost-performance perspective and can secure sovereignty for countries in terms of energy security and not having to rely on inputs....
What I would say there is that I totally agree that this is an imperative for us and that electrification is currently driven by economics and sovereignty, which is why it's important for Canada to position itself. We don't want to spend $1 trillion importing stuff from the rest of the world.
That's why I was really encouraged to see in the electricity strategy an emphasis on supply chain development so that we are making components here at home. We have companies like Hammond Power in Guelph, which increased their transformer exports by 200% and some over the last two to three years, because that's what the world needs to power things like data centres, electric vehicles and industrial electrification.
I would say that not only is it okay or possible to do both; I think we have to.