Good evening, Chair and members of the committee.
My name is Evan Pivnick. I am the clean energy program manager for Clean Energy Canada, a climate and energy think tank run out of Simon Fraser University.
I'm here to talk about Canada's clean electricity opportunities and the pivotal role this plays in enhancing our competitiveness, protecting affordability and ensuring the energy security of Canadians. The choices we make today about how we grow, modernize and decarbonize our electricity grid will profoundly impact our economic prosperity for decades to come.
Globally, the world is electrifying. Of the $3 trillion U.S. in expected global energy investment this year, $2 trillion will flow into clean energy technologies and infrastructure. The IEA expects that by 2050, in a net-zero scenario, electricity will be meeting more than half of the world's energy needs. It's not just electricity in general, but clean electricity specifically that countries are seeing as a strategic imperative. From hydro to nuclear and renewables backed by energy efficiency and energy storage, non-emitting technologies are increasingly the priority.
Across the world, fossil fuel demand for electricity has peaked in 95% of OECD countries and is now in decline. The share of electricity demand being met by renewables has been growing exponentially, expanding from roughly 20% in 2015 to an expected 38% by 2027. Even under existing policy, 80% of new power generation added globally by 2030 is expected to come from renewables.
While global climate policies certainly play a role in driving electrification, that's far from the only factor. The falling prices of key clean energy technologies, increasing demands for electricity from households and industry, and the rising importance of energy security in the face of global conflicts are all significant drivers.
Here at home, clean electricity presents opportunities for Canada that we should be moving quickly to embrace.
First, clean electricity offers Canada a major competitive advantage in a global economy that's increasingly preferring low-carbon goods and services. As ally countries like the EU and the U.S. consider moving forward with carbon border adjustments to keep out higher-carbon goods, and exports of clean energy rise in importance, our ability to power our economy with clean electricity will become an imperative. Choosing to delay the deployment of clean electricity is choosing to allow investment that could come to Canada to go elsewhere.
Second, clean electricity and the clean energy solutions that plug into it can improve household affordability. A recent report by Clean Energy Canada looked at Alberta and Ontario and found that, as of 2023, wind power was already able to produce electricity at lower cost than natural gas. Another study of ours, due out in the next few weeks, will show that deploying just a few clean energy solutions like EVs and heat pumps, powered by electricity, can help families across the country save hundreds of dollars a month on their energy bills. At a time when cost of living concerns dominate the national conversation, clean electricity can be an important part of that solution.
Finally, building out domestically produced clean electricity and electrifying our economy will enhance Canada's energy security. Global actions have an impact on the prices we pay here at home. Just last week, we saw global oil prices fall to a three-year low, in large part due to the surging EV adoption we're seeing in China. Enabling Canadian households and industries to plug into homegrown Canadian clean electricity enables them to benefit from predictable electricity prices that are regulated provincially, as opposed to being exposed to geopolitically driven fossil fuel price swings.
Canada has a significant head start, with a grid that is already more than 80% clean, but as laid out in the final report of the independent clean electricity advisory council, the twin challenges Canada must overcome are to decarbonize our electricity grid while simultaneously expanding it to meet the growing demand for electricity that we face.
There are many reasons for optimism that we can conquer these challenges. Over the last three years, nearly every province in the country has identified clean electricity as a key competitive advantage and has begun to take steps to decarbonize and grow their respective electricity grids. The problem isn't the direction; it's the speed at which we're moving. Here the federal government has a vital role to play in urgently capitalizing on our country's clean electricity opportunity.
Specifically, Clean Energy Canada recommends that the federal government drive ambition through setting clear targets and developing flexible regulations that address carbon pollution and help natural gas to be a resource of last resort; provide funding at the scale required to decarbonize our existing system and deploy new clean electricity resources needed to meet growing demand; and support the uptake of household clean energy technologies like EVs and heat pumps that help unlock cost savings and enhance our energy security.
The competitiveness of our economy, the affordability of electricity and the security of our energy supply depend on the federal government being an active partner. As others have said, the direction of change is inevitable, but the speed is up to us.
Thank you so much. I look forward to your questions.