Energy plays a significant role in the life of an individual and even to the entire country. The growth of energy is directly linked to the well-being and prosperity of the country. Therefore, the greater demand for energy must be met in a safe, and an environmentally responsible manner. To ensure a balance between the economic costs of energy and the benefits, it is of fundamental importance to ensure that the electricity and energy are reliable, its availability opens avenues for business and employment opportunities, and there should be a reduced adverse impacts associated with its production and consumption. Canada produces about 6% of global energy supplies thereby making it 5th largest producer of energy in the world (Bernstein). Canada is the world’s second leading producer of Uranium, producing one-third of global supply and is also the world’s third leading producer of hydro-electricity accounting for 13% of the global production. It is also a significant producer of petroleum, natural gas, and coal (Bernstein).
Canada’s national energy strategy involves collaboration among provincial and territorial government stakeholders. The approach is intended to be flexible and should be in a position of enhancing cooperation among the provinces and territories by ensuring common energy-related interests according to their strengths, challenges, and priorities. Therefore, provinces and regions work together to strengthen and improve energy and to make sure that it is produced, conserved, regulated, transported, transmitted, and efficiently used in Canada.
Among the objectives of the Canadian-energy strategy are to strengthen the economy and create jobs and even reflect on the shared values of Canadians. Above all, the plan should identify opportunities to develop, transport and transmit energy in agreement with provincial-territorial jurisdiction. It should also address critical issues like climate change, climate resilience and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It should also promote a competitive economy and robust research and technology sector. For these objectives to be achieved, the strategy is based on set principles that will be prompted to guide collaborative work under the strategy.
Principles for national energy strategy
These principles provide the foundation for provinces and territories to work together on energy matters and to ensure the growth of the economy, environmental protection, creation of new individual opportunities and to improve the Canadians' living standards.
Collaboration and transparency: This involves collaboration among the governments in areas of common interests concerned with energy resources, conservation, and technologies aimed at optimizing the strengths and opportunities of each province and territory. The principle also encompasses the collaboration and encouragement of co-operation, participation, and partnering with other governments and key stakeholders.
Energy security and stability: The policy ensures a secure supply of energy for all Canadians through open, non-discriminatory access to electricity transmission systems, consistent with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Open Access Rules. The energy stability principle also maintains efficient, favorable and transparent controls supporting sufficient development of energy and ensures maintenance of highest standards of environmental assessment and management.
Climate change and social and environmental responsibility: The principle recognizes the importance of environmentally friendly and socially responsible energy development, transportation systems, efficiency, and effectiveness in the use of energy resources. Furthermore, this principle ensures a change to a lower-carbon economy as a result of favorable measures and other technological innovations, taking into consideration the current and future energy needs.
Canadian National Energy strategy discussions
All provinces and territories share an interest in renewable energy, energy efficiency, conservation and research and innovations. Saskatchewan and Alberta are among the provinces where strategic energy plans are being laid to ensure that the energy produced and consumed is reliable, available, create job opportunities are environmentally friendly, among other efficiencies. On 1 December 2009, the Government of Saskatchewan introduced climate legislation in Bill 126, (the management and reduction of Greenhouse gasses act) (Matbouli, Hipel and Kilgour). It required emissions to be reduced by 20% from 2006 levels by 2020 (Matbouli, Hipel and Kilgour). The legislation was also designed to create a Saskatchewan Technology Fund that would collect payments from large emitters to invest in low-emission and emission-reducing technologies (Matbouli, Hipel and Kilgour). Among the strategic goals for Alberta included the production of clean energy, wise energy use, and sustained economic prosperity. During the 25th annual premiers’ conference in July 2015, premiers adopted the Canadian Energy Strategy (CES) (Matbouli, Hipel and Kilgour). The provincial areas of focus for Canada’s national energy strategy include the following:
1. Sustainability and conservation.
Promote energy efficiency and preservation: Efficient and conserved energy plays a significant role in ensuring a decrease in energy cost as well as reducing the environmental impacts of energy development and use. These are critical issues to generate significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The trend in Alberta Canada has been for increasing energy efficiency. For instance, between 1990 and 2008, Canada’s energy intensity declined by an average of 1.2 percent per year (Thompson, Gibson and Laxer). Nevertheless, Canada’s total energy consumption continues to grow. Between 1990 and 2009, there was a growth in energy use by 23% (Thompson, Gibson and Laxer). The amount of energy consumed also increased over this period, as evident by increases in industrial (37%), transportation (30%) and commercial and institutional (13%) sectors (Thompson, Gibson and Laxer). Provinces and territories can empower these areas to optimize or reduce energy use through public policy and provision of information.
Transition to a lower carbon economy: There is an increase in Canada’s greenhouse gas emission by 18 percent between 1990 and 2013 (Thompson, Gibson and Laxer). The growth is majorly attributed to fossil fuel production and the use of fuel in transportation. However, an average decline in Canadian emission intensity has been observed since 1990 (Thompson, Gibson and Laxer), a trend projected to continue through 2020. For a transition to a lower carbon economy to be realized, there must change in behavior. Innovation can be encouraged by ensuring that provinces and territories work together to enhance further carbon management across the country. For the transition to be supported further, provinces and territories should examine the possible use of policies based on the market that creates economic incentives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, various approaches to emissions reporting requirements can be explored by provinces and territories. They can apply consisted and coordinated approaches across Canada, creating a foundation for future progress in carbon management.
Enhance energy information and awareness: The enhancement of quality and accessibility of energy information has various advantages. There is a better understanding of energy as a result of improved access to reliable and objective information. Consequently, Canadian’s and industry will be able to make more informed decisions about energy-related choices, including investment in energy saving technologies. There will also be access to more information by the government that can assist in the development of robust energy policies. Provinces and territories collaborate to identify, collect, and provide access to the best possible energy and emissions data available. Strengthening the data quality and availability of energy and data emissions can be achieved by acknowledging the fact that energy data comes from a variety of sources, engaging other governments, academia, industry, non-profit organizations and other appropriate stakeholders.
2. Technology and innovation
Speeding up the development and use of technology-based energy research aimed at advancing more efficient production, transmission and use of clean sources of energy: Advances in research and technology has been evident in Canada's energy industry for the last several years (Ted Hogg and Michaelian). There is a possibility of building these advances and developing and deploying improved technologies that increase energy security and efficiency and expand the use of cleaner energy sources. Emerging and new energy technologies are fundamental in the enhancement of economic prosperity, promoting highly skilled jobs, a future sustainable energy, and a stronger economy capable of exporting Canadian modernization outcomes and energy products. Provinces and territories can collaborate with an objective of identifying strengths and gaps related to research, target funding and other assistance, coordinate research efforts, and work together on demonstration projects. Furthermore, provinces and territories can explore ways to internationally, commercialize the research and innovation, including the technological products. Consequently, there will be a creation of more opportunities for innovative and fast growing energy sectors like renewable energy, micro-grids, and clean technologies and at the same time ensuring a diversification and improvement on productivity. As a result, it helps to create jobs locally and allowing Canada to lead in global markets.
Develop and implement strategies aimed at meeting energy sector satisfactory for the 21st century: Canada’s energy sector requires access to a stable workforce of qualified employees to grow and remain competitive. It also requires energy training and expertise on greenhouse gas emissions accounting and mitigation technologies. Provinces and territories can improve labor market research and analysis through collaboration. It purposely strengthens knowledge about labor markets and assist education and training system to develop training that meets current future- energy sector labor demands. Through the development of Canadian mobile workforce, provinces and territories can help address the human resource challenges faced by the energy sector.
Facilitate the development of renewable and clean energy sources to meet future demand and contribute to environmental goals and priorities: Access to reliable, clean and affordable energy supplies is crucial to economic prosperity, sustainable development and the realization of a lower carbon economy. Cleaner and renewable energies provide opportunities to decrease greenhouse gas and pollutants emission associated with energy use while ensuring the diversity of energy supply and supporting greater consumer choice. Hydroelectricity is the primary source of electricity produced in Canada, accounting for 57 percent of the total electricity generating capacity in 2012 (Ted Hogg and Michaelian). Between 2008 and 2012, non-hydro-renewable such as the wind, solar, biomass, tidal, and wave power represented the fastest growing generation source (Ted Hogg and Michaelian). By joint effort, provinces and territories can enhance the development and efficient deployment of renewable green and clean energy sources, and help to unlock the full potential of renewable electricity, heat and transportation fuels.
3. Delivering power to the people
Develop and enhance a modern, convenient, environmentally safe, and efficient series of conveyance and transportation networks for local and export/import sources of energy. In Canada today, there are 105,000 kilometers of hydrocarbon transportation pipelines in the country, and the transmission network for the electricity consists of more than 160,000 kilometers of high voltage lines (Gendron). As time goes by, there is a need to identify the energy infrastructure necessary to support and maintain the reliable and efficient transportation and transmission of energy products in Canada. It is critical for Provinces and territories to work together in sharing information, searching for best practices and facilitating the efficient and conducive movement of energy products between jurisdictions. They can also demonstrate to Canadians and the world that the transmission and transportation of energy products are managed responsibly.
Promote market diversification: Through continued collaboration, provinces and territories can attract investment and open new markets for the products of the Canadian energy and services. The economy will grow through the energy exports. Furthermore, the exports will create jobs and generate revenue for investment. For the strengthening of the economy, provinces and territories can further diversify the platform of energy products available for export.
Pursue formalized active interaction of both provinces and regions in global discussions and negotiations: Being that provinces and regions have constitutionally binding responsibility for energy and natural resources, it is of paramount importance that they engage meaningfully in international discussions and negotiations on energy and climate change issues. Provinces and territories can both bilaterally and multilaterally work together to advance common interest at international forums about energy development and the energy sector. They can further make use of their current involvement in other organizational bodies to coordinate further their efforts on international energy matters.
Conclusion
Since energy is fundamental to human life, it should be ensured that the supply is continuous, reliable, provide positive economic growth and has a minimal negative impact on the environment. For the realization of all these virtues, there is a need to resort to national energy strategy as evident in some Canadian provinces like Alberta and Saskatchewan. The initiatives taken aim at improving energy efficiency by adopting the principles of energy performance benchmarking and pursuing the application of energy benchmarking practices. It also enhances the availability of reliable and credible energy information, including utility data, and explores consistent approaches to the collection of energy data and management within Canada by working in partnership with energy stakeholders, industry, and other sectors.
Work cited
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