A Plea for Transition Strategies

This article talks about how all of BC's reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) will be wiped out by new LNG developments. BC is not alone, a new coal mine is opening in Cape Breton in May. Realistically, governments are often locked into a priori decision-making, technological lock-in and path dependency, but how does one get out of this trap? If we are to achieve a carbon neutral economy by 2050, and many of us believe it could be realized by 2030 with enormous political will and leadership, then we need to open up space for the renewables, for new innovations by immediately creating a leaders round table to develop the critical transition strategies needed to get us from now to there, otherwise we will continue the same old, same old until future options are foreclosed. The choice is ours, it is both desirable and feasible but we need bold and ambitious national government leadership.

And for the second year in a row, the International Energy Agency, has reported that the surge in renewables coupled with global economic growth of 3% has resulted in another levelling off of carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector. The warnings from the planet are clear: Arctic sea ice is approaching a record low winter maximum, among many other indicators.