Expert Analysis to Dismiss Carbon Pricing Myths

Canada has experienced the economic costs of the climate emergency in fires, drought, permafrost melting, hurricanes, and coastal erosion. Canadian politicians need to depend on expert advice when developing strategies to reduce emissions of GHG without harming families or reducing job creation for a growing population.

Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission reports

Bev Dahlby, Don Drummond, Brendan Frank, France St-Hilaire, and Chris Ragan of Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission have prepared an essay, which provides a map to key facts and evidence for carbon pricing. 

In it, we have walked through the details of the federal backstop, including how it will work without harming families, negatively affecting job creation, or exempting big polluters. We have shown why carbon pricing will work to help Canadians reduce their emissions and why it is not a cash grab. We have explored why carbon pricing is fair and why it is better for our economy than other policies. And we have shown why Canada needs to be part of the global efforts to slow climate change. (Dahlby et al., n.d.)

The analysis by professional economists of carbon pricing in Canada concludes the federal backstop plan is likely to achieve significant emission reduction and provide support for economically challenged families.

References

Dahlby, B., Drummond, D., Frank, B., St-Hilaire, F., & Ragan, C. (n.d.). 10 Myths about Carbon Pricing in Canada | Ecofiscal. Ecofiscal Commission. Retrieved November 23, 2022, from https://ecofiscal.ca/10-myths-about-carbon-pricing-in-canada/ 

Both True at COP27

Mia Rabson, reporting for the Globe and Mail, writes that Canada won’t back the call at COP27 to ‘phase down’ oil and gas production.

Two directions?

“Everything we do is challenged in the court,” he said. “[Carbon] pricing was challenged, our plastic pollution regulations were challenged, our environmental impact assessment is being challenged – either by provinces or companies, or both. And if we’re not on very solid legal ground, we will lose in front of the tribunals and that doesn’t help anyone.”

Guilbeault said Canada hasn’t been challenged over plans to phase out coal, but is on almost everything it does on the oil and gas side.

“We have to be super careful in terms of what we do that what we do will hold in court,” he said. “Otherwise we’re wasting time, and precious time, to fight climate change.”

Julia Levin, national climate program manager for Environmental Defence, called that a disappointing excuse.

“I’d say it’s clear that the government of Canada is beholden to fossil fuel lobbyists and putting their interests ahead of public welfare,” said Levin.

She added that Canada’s position is strange, considering the agreement would likely have included the same abatement provision as coal. While Levin doesn’t back carbon capture and storage as a serious solution to cutting emissions, she said even that would be “a clear signal that, according to the U.S. and others, the age of oil and gas is over.”

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, meanwhile, said getting lower-emission oil and natural gas to international markets is paramount for its members. (Rabson, 2022)

Perhaps the concern of the Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault and the goal of Julia Levin, national climate program manager for Environmental Defence, both reflect progress in dealing with the climate emergency.

References

Rabson, M. (2022, November 18). Canada won't back call at COP27 to 'phase down' oil and gas production. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 19, 2022, from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-canada-wont-back-call-at-cop27-to-phase-down-oil-and-gas-production-2/ 

Nova Scotia Hydrogen Boom or Bust

The transition from fossil fuel generation of electricity for Nova Scotia has to be planned and executed with an eye to developments in other parts of the world that may be able to serve energy markets with greener solutions than LNG or hydrogen produced in Atlantic Canada.

Green Energy for the Grid

Joan Baxter reports that the Nova Scotia government is going all-in on “green hydrogen,” but a leading analyst says hydrogen is “starting to look like an economic bubble.” Leigh Collins, reporting for Hydrogen Insight on the speech of Bloomberg New Energy Finance founder Michael Liebreichto to hundreds of hydrogen professionals. 

He [Liebreich] then read out recent “hyperbolic” quotes from both German Chancellor Olaf Scholz — who said that hydrogen will create a “huge boom” and replace the natural gas used today for industry, heating and fuels — and UK energy secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg, who described H2 [hydrogen] as a “silver bullet” that can use excess wind power to produce green hydrogen that will heat Britain’s homes.

The view that hydrogen is a silver bullet or a Swiss Army knife capable of decarbonising everything from heating to transport to heavy industry and power generation is “dangerous,” Liebreich said. “This leads us into bubbles.” (Baxter, 2022)

Joan Baxter reports, in The Guardian, that the EverWind project in Point Tupper, Nova Scotia, involves two phases. The EverWind website claims it will use local wind power supply for carbon neutral fuel production. But asked where those supplies would come from, company founder and CEO, Trent Vichie answered in mixed messages.

NSPC spokesperson Jacqueline Foster said five new wind projects will go into operation in Nova Scotia by 2025. At that point, she said wind energy will account for about 30% of the province’s electricity supply.

Vichie said EverWind’s supply would not come from any of those projects. Other wind developments “didn’t make the cut”, and some suppliers “didn’t bother to bid” on the province’s recent call for proposals. “So there are projects that are ready that aren’t being built,” he said.

But even by 2030, NSPC’s deadline to eliminate coal, the utility still expects only 80% of its supply to come from renewables. In 2025, hydrogen and ammonia produced with NSPC grid power would rely on an electricity mix that includes coal and 30% wind energy.

EverWind environmental affairs advisor Ken Summers said the Point Tupper operation will be “powered off the grid” in the “immediate term and for quite a while”. He noted that environmental assessments for wind projects are a long process, so the project would not be powered initially by wind farms.

The hydrogen from the EverWind plant won’t be “really 100% green until it’s all renewable power”, he added. (Baxter, 2022)

A recent briefing in The Economist, advises that India, one of the world’s most polluting countries. is investing heavily in clean tech. Prime Minister Modi has declared it a “national mission” to develop “green hydrogen”, a clean fuel made using renewables which could help decarbonise industries that remain stubborn polluters the world over.

India’s entire generation capacity, both clean and dirty, is currently only 400gw. So Mr Modi wants to build a whole second grid’s-worth of green power in just eight years. To reach that goal, India will need to invest some $500bn in clean energy and improvements to the grid, according to an estimate by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (bnef), a research firm. (Will India Become a Green Superpower?, 2022)

Vijay Vaitheeswaran, global energy and climate innovation editor, for The Economist, reports the global hydrogen race is hotting up, and 2023 looks to be a make-or-break year.

Environmentalists love that “green” hydrogen can be made with renewable energy in electrolysers—devices that use electricity to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. This has sparked a global rush to manufacture them, with around 600 proposed projects, about half of them in Europe….

Just how durable this latest wave of enthusiasm for hydrogen will prove to be should become clear in 2023. A global recession could slash funding for novel technologies as companies cut capital expenditure and investors grow risk-averse. Supply-chain disruptions could also spoil things. They have already forced itm Power, a pioneering British firm, to roll back plans to scale up its production of electrolysers. And as countries respond to the energy shock they may prioritise security of supply, from dirty sources such as coal, over new technologies that can help tackle climate change. The biggest force pushing hydrogen forward will be government money in America

One telltale sign will be how many of those electrolyser projects actually go ahead. Andy Marsh, chief executive of America’s Plug Power, a pace-setter in the industry, predicts that global electrolyser sales will shoot up from almost zero a few years ago to $15bn in 2023. Bernd Heid of McKinsey, a consultancy, believes the first gigawatt-scale green-hydrogen project will get the go-ahead next year. Bloombergnef (bnef), a research firm, reckons electrolyser shipments will rise from 1gw now to 2.4-3.8gw in 2023, mostly in Asia.

But there is much enthusiasm about green hydrogen in Europe too. “Europe has been pregnant with a lot of projects but will finally give birth in 2023,” says Daryl Wilson of the Hydrogen Council, an industry body. (Vaitheeswaran, 2022)

The climate emergency has accelerated projects that use “clean hydrogen” to transition electrical generation from fossil fuels. Nova Scotia may risk investment in “stranded assets” as legitimately “green” hydrogen from India may be the best choice for Europe and the planet.

References

Baxter, J. (2022, October 19). Analyst: “green hydrogen” is a bunch of hot air. Halifax Examiner. Retrieved October 19, 2022, from https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/province-house/analyst-green-hydrogen-is-a-bunch-of-hot-air/ 

Baxter, J. (2022, October 26). Nova Scotia touted its huge 'green' energy plant. Turns out it's powered by coal. The Guardian. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/26/nova-scotia-green-energy-plant-coal-powered 

Vaitheeswaran, V. (2022, November 14). Hydrogen hype is rising again—will this time be different? The Economist. Retrieved November 17, 2022, from https://www.economist.com/the-world-ahead/2022/11/14/hydrogen-hype-is-rising-again-will-this-time-be-different?utm_campaign=a.23worldahead_fy2223_q3_conversion-cb-dr_prospecting_global-global_auction_na&utm_medium=social-media.content.pd&utm_source=faceboo 

Will India become a green superpower? (2022, October 20). The Economist. Retrieved November 5, 2022, from https://www.economist.com/briefing/2022/10/20/will-india-become-a-green-superpower 

Affordable housing in Nova Scotia.

In a time of inflation and rising rents, the cost of housing has forced more people in our community into homelessness. Deeply affordable housing is badly needed.

Housing Need in Our Community

Halifax Councillor Waye Mason has expressed that in this time of likely global housing price collapse, high interest rates, and recession we are in need of the government to help preserve our labour force by funding affordable housing construction. His concerns have been expressed in a letter to Nova Scotia Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister, John Lohr.

Finally and most importantly, you are responsible for affordable housing construction in Nova Scotia.  In the election, Premier Houston promised to deliver the Affordable Housing Commission report.  That report talks extensively about the need for social or below-market housing.   I say again to you Minister, the market will not produce below-market housing.

You need to have a massive plan to build affordable housing, and you needed it a year ago.  With the coming global housing price collapse, high-interest rates and recession, there has never been a better time for the government to help preserve our labour force by funding affordable housing construction. (Mason, 2022)

ACORN Canada, an independent national organization of low and moderate income people with 160,000+ members in 20+ neighbourhood chapters across 9 cities, advocates to make housing a right in Canada. 

 

Housing is a Right!

The Federal Government should enact legislation that clearly establishes the right to secure, adequate and affordable housing:

 

Affordability:

Ensure that all people pay less than 30% of household income on housing, without risk of eviction.

 

Multi-jurisdictional leadership from federal government:

Our current housing challenge requires responsibility and action from all levels, bringing to bear the collective set of policy and financial tools at our disposal. This will require leadership at the federal level and a new set of arrangements between federal, provincial, territorial, municipal and First Nations governments.

 

Full rent control by all provinces.

 

Federal Government to support municipal implementation of mandatory inclusive zoning in high pressure development.

 

Minimum standards of maintenance:

It is important that the policy environment encourages re-investment in substandard housing in a way that preserves quality while maintaining affordability. Energy retrofits are win-win, as energy efficiency equals lower costs. This cost reduction needs strong policies to ensure the savings are being passed on to the tenants.

We need the federal government to implement a federal minimum standard of housing, covering the livability of housing for many low-income families across the country. It should include basic standards of maintenance, health standards related to mold and pests, and a minimum enforcement regime for any level of government responsible for housing conditions. Included in this should be support for landlord licensing policies at municipal or provincial levels to enforce the standards created at the federal level. (Gaga & Cooper, 2022)

ACORN on housing

Nova Scotia Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister, John Lohr, announced that the Province provided a low-interest $5.6-million mortgage to the Housing Trust of Nova Scotia to help purchase five existing rental properties. The investment will prevent the potential loss of 295 existing affordable housing units across Halifax Regional Municipality.

“We heard about some of the challenges non-profits face when they see an opportunity to invest in affordable housing, and this new lending program will help preserve and increase affordable housing stock for people and families in need,” said Minister Lohr. “We have seen rental properties purchased by investors and heard the stories of rents being increased out of reach for existing tenants. This program not only prevents further gentrification and loss of affordable housing but also ensures tenants can continue to live in their homes.” (New Lending Program Supports Affordable Housing, 2022)

The challenge to reduce the suffering of the homeless in our community requires action that creates homes for people in the most expeditious way.

Source: https://images.rentals.ca/images/image4.width-800.png

The market is not likely to be able to provide units quickly enough that are deeply affordable.

References

Gaga, L., & Cooper, B. (2022, January 17). ACORN’s National Housing Demands. ACORN Canada Housing. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://acorncanada.org/housing/ 

Mason, W. (2022, November 15). Correspondence from Councillor Mason to Minister Lohr Regarding Housing. Waye Mason, Councillor. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://wayemason.ca/2022/11/15/correspondence-from-councillor-mason-to-minister-lohr-regarding-housing/ 

New Lending Program Supports Affordable Housing. (2022, July 13). Government of Nova Scotia. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20220713002 

Inverness Economic Inequality is Not for Mabou.

The top photo in this article could have been taken in the town where I grew up, Glace Bay, or the region near Stellarton where my ancestors lived and worked, or the town of tragedy, Springhill, where I instructed at the community college for a semester, but this image is from the village of Inverness.

Streetscape in Inverness Nova Scotia

One common denominator of these places is coal mining and the characteristic miners’s houses. The history of coal mining in Nova Scotia is the story of robber-baron capitalism, union resistance to poor wages and dangerous working conditions, and class struggle. Coal mining is not a primary source of employment in Nova Scotia anymore. The persistence of the mining houses in the streetscape of Inverness may be an indicator of another form of employment that requires maintenance of class separation and service of the privileged by those with less political, social and economic capital. In my youth, the riches underground were extracted by miners, processed into rails by steel workers and the profits enriched the foreign companies who abandoned Cape Breton in a flash when the market reduced their profit. The natural resources on the shores of Cape Breton have been shown capable of returning profits from golf for the owners of the course and service wages and security as the “economic benefit” for the less privileged class. We can do better by focussing on preparing the people of Inverness to be guides and provide services to visitors based on the natural history and beauty of the region, eco tourism, and the culture of the area. Economic development based on short term profit to outside owners and minimum wage service employment while the business stays is not in the long term interest of Inverness or any other community.

Health Care and Education Community Campus

When we look around our communities we can assess the state of the educational facilities in our neighbourhood. In areas with young families, the school is likely very busy and professional education staff are actively engaged in serving the community. In neighbourhoods with more mature people, the school facility may be underutilized or perhaps the students are bussed in from other locations. Matt Galloway, CBC the Current, on Nov 4 2022 talked to B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix; and Vancouver family physician Dr. Rita McCracken, an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Medicine.

Dr. McCracken compared a renewed structure for family health care to the infrastructure in place in Canadian provinces for education. She pondered a health care system that was structured like the education system, where health professionals, family physicians, nurse practitioners, extended scope nurses and others worked in clinics analogous to education professionals working in schools.

Cobequid Community Health and Education Centre

Perhaps the analogy can be extended further by considering government construction of multi purpose buildings or a campus serving community needs for education, health care, recreation, and social services in one location. As the nature of the community evolves with time, resources offered in a particular location may shift from mostly education to mostly health.

Just as the mission to provide primary and secondary education to communities is managed by the government and the educational staff is paid from public funds, the health care professionals on site would be compensated in a similar manner. The planning of human and equipment resources for the multi-use facility can be forecast and addressed in accord with community needs and the obligations incurred by the government to provide services. Education and training of health professionals can be planned in universities and colleges to staff the multi-use facilities.

We have generally accepted the benefit of primary, secondary, and post-secondary education to the social and economic success of our provinces. A structure that brings primary and secondary health care to communities under an education-like structure will elevate the general health of the province, reduce overall health care cost, and increase equity in access to care.

Emergency Housing Need

The tent communities that have sprung up in HRM are not adequate housing solutions for people at any time of year. As winter approaches, we will need to protect homeless people from increased harm and suffering.

Tent Housing in November

In the next few years, construction of additional housing is essential to address this emergency situation. Michael Gormann, CBC News, reports that Premier Houston is saying that building more housing is key. Opposition leaders in Nova Scotia say the focus should be on affordable units.

More housing would lead to a change in demand, he said, which would mean more options for people in need.

"It's just simple math," said Houston.

"When you have people looking for homes, you build homes. People fill them and that fills them across the spectrum."

"But at some point in time, if we can build enough housing there will be housing for everyone across the whole spectrum."(Gorman, 2022)

A “Non-capitalist Solution to the Housing Crisis” is advocated in this YouTube presentation that may be an alternative to the “trickle down” logic of increasing the supply of for-profit housing thereby creating openings for rentals that are affordable.

In non-market housing, rents are stable, and get more affordable over time.

Just one reason we should make it faster & easier to build a LOT more coop, non-profit and social housing in #Vancouver.

Thanks for the GREAT video @aboutherevideos @Vancity!https://t.co/DhUJse3or3

— Christine Boyle (@christineeboyle) November 2, 2022

Nova Scotia housing minister, John Lohr, appeared to expand the possibilities for government support for housing.

Lohr told reporters that it's the view of the government that it can get more bang for its buck, particularly in the midst of a labour shortage that's already straining construction capacity, if money is directed instead toward supporting co-operative housing projects and projects spearheaded by non-profit agencies. (Gorman, 2022)

It is likely that people will continue to suffer too long with homelessness if we are to rely on development of deeply affordable housing as a consequence of increasing the supply of housing “across the spectrum.”

New Apartments not likely for the people in tents

“Not for profit” housing development can address the need through emergency government funding now and continued affordability in premises that are not subject to “what the market will bear” rent.

References

Gorman, M. (2022, November 3). Opposition calls on N.S. government to build more affordable housing. CBC. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/affordable-housing-tim-houston-zach-churchill-claudia-chender-1.6638825?cmp=rss 

The Non-capitalist Solution to the Housing Crisis. (2022, November 1). YouTube. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://youtu.be/sKudSeqHSJk