Is this doable and feasible now?

The energy transition is fiscally feasible, says Corporate Knights research director Ralph Torrie. He estimates the cost of decarbonizing the Canadian economy to be $150 billion a year – a fraction of Canada’s total annual capital spending of $650 billion. “Scores of innovations in recent years, from electric vehicles to cold-climate heat pumps, have opened up pathways to zero emissions,” Torrie writes. The problem: Canada is under-investing in three key categories – buildings, transportation and power – by $30 billion to $40 billion a year. More public funding is part of the solution, but Corporate Knights’ Climate Dollars research project is studying these gaps to better understand how to clear the roadblocks and fund a better future.

Unless and until most of the capital spending is aligned with our climate change commitments, we will not get at the root cause of the heat waves, droughts, floods and wildfires that are eating away at our prosperity. Torrie believes that such an alignment is possible. Visit the Corporate Knights article to explore his observations on and recommendations on how and why for reaching a net zero economy. Yes, it is doable and feasible now, and urgently needed.

Image Credits: Eco Action by Mika Baumeister (2019) via Unsplash