Generation Energy Council
The Generation Energy Council presented its report to Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr on June 7 , 2018. The report is intended to inform the Government as it develops an energy policy and helps define Canada's energy future.
The 14-member Generation Energy Council was announced on December 12, 2017, with a mandate to advise on how Canada can transition to a reliable, affordable, low-carbon economy in the future. The Council's work will be informed by the takeaways from October's ground breaking, two-day Generation Energy Forum, as well as public consultations.
Transcript
MERRAN: The world is going through a transition to cleaner energy and more digital system with new technologies. It's exciting and we need to actually include everyone in this conversation as we move forward and we need everybody to see themselves in that vision in Canada's energy future.
LINDA: That's a key point. We're not going to move forward unless everyone can be part of that conversation.
ANNETTE: Fourteen of us around the table from very different parts of life, very different industries. It was amazing how we did find common ground
LEAH: How you use energy at home, how you consume it as part of your job, how you deliver energy as a profession, these are all issues that we're going to have to talk about and be knowledgeable about as Canadians and be willing to do something about.
COLLEEN: All of us whether we're 5 years old or 80 years old have an opportunity to contribute this through the choices we make everyday.
DAVE: I think there's some things we do know – it's got to be affordable, it's got to be reliable, it's got to be convenient and it's gotta be cleaner than it is today.
JULIA: Right from the beginning we agreed on some of the core pathway, but of course devil is in the details, so that's been the fun part since then.
PHILIPPE: It's challenging to agree with people from everywhere in the country, people who live different lives, who have different perspectives on a common energy future.
RICHARD: I can say one thing for sure. All the members have been open to ideas, all members have been open to learning, all members have been willing to listen.
AISHA: indigenous people generally are known to be stewards of the earth and the environment. I think as we go through this transition we have a lot to learn from them.
ÉLISE: At this table, everybody respects each other's expertise. It's really nice to see. It is important to remind ourselves to take care of our resources and to use them wisely.
DAVE: As you look forward and we think about our kids and their kids, that's in part of why I do this cause I think it's really important to their future more so than to mine.
PHILIPPE: If we make it, we win. We win the biggest economic revolution of the century, I would say.
ANNETTE: I think this could be one of the most exciting economic opportunities for our country. We want to be leaders and the way to do that is to transform and to change and to take advantage of the future
COLLEEN: It's been difficult but I think we've been able to make good progress and that gives me hope for the country being able to make progress on this as we go forward.
AISHA: The way we came to a consensus I think everyone else in the country needs to take this journey to come to a consensus.
MERRAN: We know where we need to get to, we know how we're going to get there. Let's get going.
MINISTER: I know that my children are far more aware and conscious of their footprint than I was in my generation. So Generation Energy I hope will inspire those who come after us to be even better at it.
Text version
This transition is a big deal. And it represents a real opportunity for Canadians – we know it can help us build a better country, avoid the impacts of climate change, and redefine Canada's role in a changing world. This report is a proposition for Canadians – an invitation to imagine Canada's energy future, and then to join together to build it.
The Council has identified four pathways that collectively will lead to the affordable, sustainable energy future that YOU told us you want:
Wasting less energy: It's rarely the most glamourous part of the energy business, but some of Canada's greatest opportunities to save money, cut greenhouse gas emissions and create jobs can be found in slashing energy waste. Fully one-third of our Paris emissions commitment could be achieved by improving energy efficiency, which will also make our businesses more competitive internationally and leave more money in consumers' pockets.
Switching to clean power: With Canada's head start on clean power, it can complete the transformation to a nearly carbon-free electricity grid more easily than many places. There is a bigger challenge — and substantial opportunity — in building on our head start by switching more of our heating systems, transportation and industrial processes to electricity, a process we refer to as "clean electrification."
Using more renewable fuels: Alongside reducing energy demand and boosting the use of clean electricity, we will continue to require liquid and gas fuels in transportation, heating and cooling, and some industrial processes. We must reduce the impact of those fuels by expanding Canada's capacity to produce and use cleaner fuels — biofuels and biogas from plants and waste, for example — that can heat homes, power vehicles and support manufacturing with much less carbon pollution.
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