Pembina Institute's Green Economics News

“Re-tooling” development charges into a sharp, effective revenue tool (blog)

Cherise Burda — Mon, 06 May 2013 15:27:56 +0000

In the debate over which combination of revenue tools would best support the expansion of transit in the Toronto region, an unexpected option has emerged as a top pick. Travis Allan and Cherise Burda take a closer look at the development charge and its potential to fund transit and improve urban planning at the same time.

Pembina reacts to release of 2013 Ontario budget (media release)

Cherise Burda, Julia Kilpatrick — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:00:00 +0000

Cherise Burda, Ontario policy director at the Pembina Institute, comments on the release of the 2013 Ontario provincial budget.

Albertans don’t just pay to ride the resource rollercoaster — they risk having to clean up once the carnival leaves town (blog)

Nathan Lemphers — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 15:56:10 +0000

There’s a carnival in town, and everyone is talking about its main attraction — the mighty resource rollercoaster that is taking Alberta’s and Canada’s economies for a wild ride. Albertans are already paying a premium at the ticket booth, but few have noticed the fine print on the bottom of the receipt: once the carnival leaves town, ticketholders may be left paying for the cleanup costs.

What you need to know about Alberta’s 40/40 carbon pricing proposal (blog)

Simon Dyer — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 23:24:20 +0000

News broke this week that Alberta is considering strengthening greenhouse gas regulations on the province’s energy industry. The so-called “40/40” plan proposed by the Environment Minister Diana McQueen would increase Alberta’s intensity-based emissions target and its carbon price. The very mention of such a move has kicked off a long-overdue conversation about what it’s going to take to curtail greenhouse gas pollution and develop Alberta’s resources responsibly.

Farewell to National Round Table on Environment and Economy (blog)

Matt Horne — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 23:44:34 +0000

Last year’s federal budget gave the order to shut the NRTEE down on March 31, 2013, but you can find an unofficial archive of their work online, including a list of their publications dating back to the early 1990s.

Pembina reacts to release of the 2013 federal budget (media release)

Clare Demerse, Julia Kilpatrick — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:00:00 +0000

Statement by the Pembina Institute on the 2013 federal budget.

Tough but vital transit medicine from Toronto Region Board of Trade (op-ed)

Cherise Burda, Stephanie Cairns — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 15:00:00 +0000

The social, economic and environmental malady of gridlock in greater Toronto can be cured. This week, the Toronto Region Board of Trade prescribed a treatment to raise the $2 billion a year needed to fund the Big Move regional transportation plan: a combination of small regional sales and gasoline taxes, a commercial parking levy, and paid express lanes.

Q&A: How the Board of Trade’s transit funding proposal would drive the Toronto region in the right direction (blog)

Cherise Burda — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 15:54:21 +0000

Earlier today, the Toronto Region Board of Trade released its bold proposal to address gridlock and expand transit in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). The benefit of the four tools proposed by the Board is that they can be spread among the tax base, be kept relatively low for each tool, such as for a regional sales tax and fuel tax, and not hit one sector or user group hard.

Pembina reacts to the Toronto Region Board of Trade's funding recommendations for ‬the Big Move regional transit plan (media release)

Cherise Burda — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 15:00:00 +0000

Cherise Burda, Ontario policy director at the Pembina Institute, comments on the release of the Toronto Region Board of Trade’s funding recommendations for Metrolinx’s the Big Move regional transit plan.

Draft U.S. environmental assessment understates significance of Keystone XL for oilsands expansion and climate emissions (blog)

Nathan Lemphers — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 14:49:55 +0000

Late last Friday, the U.S. State Department released its draft assessment of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline’s environmental impacts, marking a significant milestone toward the impending White House decision on the project’s fate.

Keystone XL depends on climate policy (op-ed)

Clare Demerse — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000

The release of a controversial U.S. State Department environmental impact assessment late last week signalled a new phase in the battle over the Keystone XL pipeline proposal. The already-tense process looks set to get even more fraught as the technical phase starts to wrap up and the decision shifts squarely into the political arena.

B.C. concludes that carbon tax is working, yet rejects important next steps (blog)

Matt Horne — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 01:31:19 +0000

Initial observations of the outcome of B.C.'s carbon tax review presented in B.C.’s 2013 Budget

Departing environmental commissioner challenges Ottawa to step up protection (blog)

Clare Demerse — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 19:44:46 +0000

As parting shots go, Scott Vaughan’s was a powerful one.

With the release of his final report as Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development last week, Vaughan made the case that the development of our natural resources is running dangerously ahead of Canada’s laws and policies to protect the environment.

Vanquishing the “bitumen bubble” will require fresh ideas, not business as usual (op-ed)

Nathan Lemphers — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000

Last week, Alberta’s Premier Alison Redford took to TV sets across the province to tell Albertans to brace for impact. The “bitumen bubble,” she said, is growing and about to burst. The result is an impending deficit of over $6 billion — the equivalent of Alberta’s total spending on education.

Report shows federal policy, access to capital major barriers to Canadian clean energy industry (media release)

Ed Whittingham, Kevin Sauvé — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000

Canada’s clean technology sector is a major driver of job growth and innovation, and could be worth $60 billion by 2020 barring current federal policy and financing barriers, says a new report by the Pembina Institute.

Competing in Clean Energy (publication)

Dan Woynillowicz, Penelope Comette, Ed Whittingham — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000

What will it take for Canada to become a clean energy super power? With more than 700 companies, the clean technology sector has emerged as a major driver of innovation and employment growth in Canada. But, if you ask the experts, federal policy and access to capital are still major barriers to a thriving clean energy industry in Canada.

2012 brought the best and worst of times for energy and environment in Canada (blog)

Julia Kilpatrick — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 17:23:08 +0000

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.” Though originally written as a social criticism of the period leading up to the French Revolution, Charles Dickens’ words seem an equally appropriate characterization of the past year for energy and environment issues in Canada.

Canada’s financial sector has its ‘mine truck’ moment (blog)

Jason Switzer — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 20:51:09 +0000

Historically speaking, Canadian energy issues haven’t always played as prominently on the global stage as they do today. In 2006, the oilsands were just an emerging story, known principally to investors on the hunt for returns (although Pembina has been working on oilsands issues since the mid-1980s). It took Ralph Klein, then-premier of Alberta, parking an oilsands heavy hauler within eyesight of the U.S. Congress for the broader environmental community to get well and truly fired up over oilsands development. Within a few short years, Canada’s bitumen mines would be making front-page headlines worldwide.

Canada’s financial sector appears to be enjoying its own ‘mine truck’ moment.

Investing federal oil and gas subsidies in clean energy would bring Canada 18,000 more jobs, a healthier economy and a cleaner environment (media release)

Pembina Institute et al. — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000

A new report released today by Blue Green Canada – Canada’s foremost entity to bring unions and environmentalists together – shows that investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency would create more jobs than the same amount of investment in fossil fuels.

Environmental groups to oppose Jackpine oilsands project at hearing (media release)

Pembina Institute et al. — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000

The Oil Sands Environmental Coalition (OSEC) — comprised of the Pembina Institute, the Alberta Wilderness Association and the Fort McMurray Environmental Association, and represented by Ecojustice — will present evidence this week that clearly demonstrates that the Shell Jackpine mine expansion is not in the public interest.