Thank you, Madam Chair.
The Canadian Electricity Association, or CEA, is the national voice of the electricity sector. Our members operate in every province and territory in Canada, and include generation, transmission and distribution companies, as well as technology and service providers.
Electricity is at the heart of Canada's transition to a low-carbon economy. Over 80% of Canada's electricity generation is already non-emitting, making it one of the cleanest grids in the world. In fact, the Canadian electricity sector has already reduced GHG emissions by nearly 50% since 2005. Clean, reliable power will play an essential role as Canada begins to decarbonize through electrification.
Our sector is uniquely positioned to help advance Canada's clean energy future and meet climate commitments in 2030, 2050 and beyond. In fact, CEA released a list of actions for achieving net-zero carbon emissions; we have provided it to the clerk for your reference.
The focus of the study before you is how the Government of Canada can support industries in the transition to greener and more sustainable practices. Electricity is best positioned to enable this transition. The Canadian Institute for Climate Choices analyzed 60 pathways that it said could achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. All of them involved electricity, so we're going to need more electricity.
By 2050, Canada will need to produce two to three times as much clean power as it does right now. Facilitating this increase in clean power generation and ensuring that our sector can adopt innovative technologies is where government can provide support.
First, we should emphasize electrification. Grid investments should be program-focused and should improve the affordability and reliability of the system while reflecting Canada's diverse electricity markets. To do so, the federal government, in collaboration with stakeholders, industry and other levels of government, should develop and implement an electrification strategy to support decarbonization. This would guide Canada's approach to reducing GHG emissions in other sectors and to improving the economy.
Government should also work to enable electricity investments. As the economy restarts, it will be important for projects that are planned or under way to move forward. The Conference Board of Canada has estimated that there will be a need for $1.7 trillion in investments in the sector by 2050 to meet our climate goals. Deferrals and delays hinder stimulus efforts and our climate ambitions.
Regulatory modernization can also be done to enable investments more broadly. We were pleased to see the 2021 federal budget include funds for Measurement Canada to update rules for, among other things, zero-emission vehicles and charging infrastructure. Ultimately, as I told your colleagues at the environment committee last year, we need to update legislation.
We also need to think about how utilities are regulated economically. Electricity markets and rates are regulated by provincial regulatory commissions. As these bodies look to balance costs, innovative new projects that advance reliability and clean energy goals can face barriers before they get approved. There's a role for the federal government to play in working with the provinces to modernize this process.
Finally, help to scale up nascent technology is also needed. The electricity sector needs policy support and clear regulatory pathways for innovative technologies such as small modular reactors, hydrogen, energy storage, and carbon capture, utilization and storage. These could develop new export markets for Canada, beyond solving problems at home.
Each year, we look at the state of the Canadian electricity sector. This year's theme is renewal.
Canada's electricity grid is growing, driven by consumer demand and evolving technology. For Canada to reach net zero, our country will need to develop policies that encourage the grid to grow even further.
Thank you.