Four Canadian entrants are finalists in the $20M NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE. This competition is designed to inspire the brightest minds around the world help solve climate change. They are developing breakthrough technologies that will convert CO2 emissions from power plants and industrial facilities into valuable products like building materials, alternative fuels and other items we use every day.
Check out some great Canadian examples:
of Metro Vancouver’s wastewater treatment plants use sewage to generate energy on site.
Edmonton is using landfill gas to produce electricity – enough to satisfy electricity demands of approximately 4,600 homes.
Waterloo launched a pilot program that turns dog waste into energy. After just 45 days, an estimated .06 metric tonnes of CO2 was diverted from the atmosphere and the 1,322 pounds of waste collected was turned into electricity and fertilizer.
Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA), an alliance of oil sands producers, has voluntarily shared 981 distinct environmental technologies costing $1.4 billion.
The Alberta government has committed $1.3 billion to commercial scale carbon capture and storage projects. The $1.3 billion fund is one of the largest commitments to this technology in the world, from a province of just over four million people.
The Clean Resource Innovation Network (CRIN) is a hub of industry, academia, government, innovators and businesses, all focusing on advancing technology solutions for priority environmental challenges across the oil and gas sector.
A 2014 Worley Parsons study showed that Canada has among the strictest and most compliant environmental policies, laws and regulatory systems compared to similar jurisdictions.
Alberta’s Climate Leadership Plan features a phase out of coal-fired power by 2030, replacing at least 50 – 75 per cent of retired coal generation with renewable power. The plan also sets firm targets to reduce methane emissions from upstream oil and gas production 45 per cent by the year 2025.
By 2019, world oil consumption will top 100 million barrels a day. Forecasts suggest that the demand for oil will continue to grow until a decline not starting until 2030 or by some forecasts, increase through to 2040. One estimate suggests in 20 years we will be using as much oil as we were in 2012.
It’s estimated that almost three quarters of new energy capacity investments in Canada through 2040 will be for renewable energy sources, wind and solar. Global investments over the period are expected to exceed $10 trillion USD.
We all use products made from petroleum every day and we are all in this together. Let's have an honest and constructive dialogue about Canadian energy.
The Canada, we need to talk video was created to spark critical conversations. Learn why Calgary Economic Development added our voice to the conversation about energy in Canada and reinforced the national importance of this discussion.
Learn why
