Summer of fire, flood and wind

The summer of 2023 has brought frequent and disastrous climate events that threaten life and property in Canada.

Risk of Water Damage

 

Marsha Lederman, Globe and Mail Staff Columnist, reflects on recent climate events and concludes despair alone is not an option. 

It can feel futile – I get it. But despair alone is not an option. Accompany it with debate, protest, action. Invest and shop ethically (if you can), ride your bike to work (if it’s not too hot), eat more sustainably, argue with that climate-change denier at the family barbecue. The time to swelter in silence is over. (Lederman et al., n.d.)

Brenna Walsh, Senior Energy Coordinator at the Ecology Action Centre, comments:  “Here in Nova Scotia wildfires and floods this summer have destroyed homes, displaced hundreds of people and taken lives, and has brought the challenges of living in a climate emergency to light for many people,” 

“In Nova Scotia, we have one of the dirtiest grids in the country – 43 per cent of emissions come from electricity, compared to the national average of nine per cent. Although progress has been made in committing to get off coal by 2030, we have a long way to go to get to net zero for the electricity grid, but it is possible.” 

The Clean Electricity Regulation helps ensure that Nova Scotia is taking advantage of wind and solar – now the cheapest form of electricity ever – and disincentivizes turning on expensive fossil fuel assets during times of peak demand. Bringing projects like the Atlantic Loop online support this by allowing trade with Quebec, providing access to their hydro power when Nova Scotia would have to turn on polluting peaker plants and allowing Nova Scotia to sell wind and solar back when it has extra. This can help drive cost effective decarbonization of our grid, reduce rate increases and protect Nova Scotians from the volatile prices of fossil fuels. (Clean Electricity Regulation Important to Green Nova Scotia’s Grid, 2023)

Electrify for the future in Nova Scotia

Stephen Thomas, Clean Energy Manager, David Suzuki Foundation, said “The wildfires, floods and droughts we’re seeing across Canada this year are unprecedented in their costs to our people, land and economy. They are an urgent reminder that we need to move away from the root cause of this climate crisis: fossil fuels.

“We know there is broad support for a zero-emissions future in Canada. More than 40,000 people signed petitions calling for the end to fossil fuels, and for renewable power for all.

“It’s not just an environmental argument to move away from fossil fuels. Wind and solar are the cheapest forms of electricity in history, while fossil fuel prices are increasingly volatile and costly. We will all see the benefits on our energy bills of a grid powered by renewables.”(Thomas, n.d.)

The clean electricity regulations of the Government of Canada set a direction for electricity generation and distribution that will reduce the GHG emissions of fossil fuel generation, create opportunities for the electrical transition workforce, and mitigate future effects of climate on floods, fires, and wind.

References

Clean Electricity Regulation important to green Nova Scotia’s grid. (2023, August 10). Ecology Action Centre. Retrieved August 11, 2023, from https://ecologyaction.ca/resources-media/press-releases/clean-electricity-regulation-important-green-nova-scotias-grid 

Lederman, M., Picard, A., & McLister, R. (n.d.). Opinion: This summer of our climate discontent should drive us to action. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved July 21, 2023, from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-this-summer-of-our-climate-discontent-should-drive-us-to-action/?utm_medium=Referrer:+Social+Network+/+Media&utm_campaign=Shared+Web+Article+Links 

Thomas, S. (n.d.). David Suzuki Foundation comments on clean electricity regulations. David Suzuki Foundation: Home. Retrieved August 11, 2023, from https://davidsuzuki.org/press/david-suzuki-foundation-comments-on-clean-electricity-regulations/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=tweet-link&utm_campaign=cleanElectricity-governmentDraftCleanElectricityRegulationsAnnouncement-10aug2023  

Power Politics Planet

The recent announcement by Nova Scotia Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton concerning an increase in electricity generation by using biomass is being received as good news by members of Forest Nova Scotia and as a terrible decision by Ecology Action Centre personnel.

Common Ground in Biodiversity

Bob Bancroft, President, Nature Nova Scotia, writes that biomass is currently being used to produce electricity in two locations in Nova Scotia. Other biomass plants are also being planned or built. 

The laws of thermodynamics make the conversion of wood to electricity very inefficient – in the Point Tupper case, Nova Scotia Power Inc. (NSPI) projected a 21.5% electrical efficiency with relatively dry wood. In fact, their wood is kept outside, uncovered and wet, so efficiencies may be lower.

The Point Tupper biomass plant is too large. It is being fed by 50–60 tractor trailer loads of wood daily, for a total of about 650,000 tonnes annually, or roughly 100 “wet tonnes” per hour.

Operating the Point Tupper biomass plant is costing NSPI ratepayers an extra $6–8 million a year.1 This is due in part to “must run” stipulations that force NSPI to supply heat for operating the pulp mill next door. This amounts to another Port Hawkesbury Paper subsidy and a violation of the US-Canada trade agreement. NSPI is forced to operate the biomass plant when cheaper energy sources, like natural gas or Quebec hydro, are available and savings could be passed along to customers. (Bancroft, n.d.)

Michael Gorman of CBC News reports that Nova Scotia Power will use more biomass to generate electricity for the next three years, under regulatory changes by the province that are angering environmentalists and being lauded by the forestry industry.

Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton said biomass is a resource that can be used at a time when fossil fuel prices remain volatile, until more wind and solar projects are ready to come online.

Rushton said sawmills around the province have lots of wood chips and other byproducts from forestry operations that can be used to meet the new requirements. It also provides a destination for waste wood still in forests following post-tropical storm Fiona, said Rushton.

The regulations prohibit cutting whole trees to generate electricity and only allow products left over from sustainable timber harvest and primary processing to be used.

"What I see is a renewable resource that we have sitting in our province right now, with biomass that can certainly assist Nova Scotia Power with meeting their renewable targets," Rushton said in an interview. (Gorman, 2022)

Jennifer Henderson, reporting for the Halifax Examiner, on a decision by the Houston government in Nova Scotia, to establish a new regulation that requires Nova Scotia Power to generate at least 153,000 megawatt hours of electricity a year from biomass for the next three years.

 

Renewable Energy Minister Tory Rushton defended the move to burn more biomass.

“For us, this is about putting more renewable energy on the system for a short period of time until we can establish more hydro and wind for the long-term,” said Rushton. “ I’m also the minister responsible for Natural Resources so I know there’s no longer a market for pulpwood since Northern Pulp closed. And the residual wood left on the ground after hurricane Fiona creates an opportunity to have money paid for that wood to stay in the province.” 

Ray Plourde, senior wilderness coordinator for the Ecology Action Centre, comments that “This is a really terrible announcement for the environment, a disaster for the atmosphere and for biodiversity,”

The government pretends that burning forest biomass is magically non-carbon emitting based on a fantasy theory that in 100 years, the carbon will be re-absorbed by future trees that may or may not grow, so they don’t need to count biomass emissions at all.

But we don’t have 100 years to wait for that to happen and there is no guarantee that it will.

Biomass is not a climate solution, but it’s being embraced by our government in policy and practice because it’s easy to do (burn trees instead of coal) and it helps the forestry sector with a glut of so called ‘waste wood.’ Its significant negative impacts on the climate and biodiversity are conveniently ignored. It’s a farce, a sick joke at a time when we need real climate solutions. (Henderson, 2022)

The demands of power, politics, and the planet are in tension again when biomass is used as a fuel to generate electricity.

References

Bancroft, B. (n.d.). Nova Scotia Biomass Power Generation. Nature Nova Scotia. Retrieved December 20, 2022, from https://naturens.ca/projects/biomass-energy/ 

Gorman, M. (2022, December 19). Province orders Nova Scotia Power to use biomass to generate electricity. CBC. Retrieved December 20, 2022, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/biomass-forestry-electricity-nova-scotia-power-tory-rushton-1.6691389 

Henderson, J. (2022, December 20). 'A farce, a sick joke': Nova Scotia amps up burning of biomass for electricity. Halifax Examiner. Retrieved December 20, 2022, from https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/economy/natural-resources/forestry/a-farce-a-sick-joke-nova-scotia-amps-up-burning-of-biomass-for-electricity/ 

Opportunity or Imperative to Change

Cloe Logan, writing for the National Observer, analyses a new report assessing climate risks across Nova Scotia from the provincial Department of Environment and Climate Change, entitled, Weathering What’s Ahead: Climate Change Risk and Nova Scotia’s Well-being. 

Will Balser, coastal adaptation co-ordinator at Ecology Action Centre in Halifax, notes that there are some important risks acknowledged in the report. He stresses the important next step of seeing how the province plans to address those risks.

Timothy Halman, minister of environment and climate change, said the report shows the vulnerability of the area, setting the groundwork for action. “Together, we have an opportunity to make positive change and work to protect each other and all that we value,"

Will Balser said the minister’s sentiment should go further. “I see it as if he's talking about an opportunity to make a positive gain. Rather, I see it as more of an imperative to change, rather than just an opportunity,” he said. (Logan & Ottenhof, 2022)

Opportunity or Imperative

The report identifies top climate concerns for Nova Scotia.

Top Climate Concerns NS

The province’s climate plan, expected on Dec 7 2022, needs to clarify the already stated objectives:

Clarify Objectives

The province needs to

The report notes that “using oil, coal, and natural gas to heat homes, generate electricity, and fuel vehicles” contributes to climate change and will worsen climate impacts. As of now, over half of the electricity generation in Nova Scotia comes from coal. (Logan & Ottenhof, 2022)

Electricity needs in Canada

The Department of Environment and Climate Change has produced this report as a resource for all levels of government to set priorities, business to alter practices and plans, and people to use in conversations that will direct our collaboration with the measures necessary to weather what is ahead.

References

Logan, C., & Ottenhof, L. (2022, December 5). Sea levels in Nova Scotia set to rise by a metre this century. National Observer. Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://www.nationalobserver.com/2022/12/05/news/sea-levels-nova-scotia-rise-metre-century 

Gaps in our path to mitigate climate change

The efforts to reduce GHG emissions are undertaken to decrease the rate at which the temperature of the planet is increasing.

Temperature rising

Nicole Mortillaro of the CBC reports that the Earth is set to warm 3.2 C by 2100 unless efforts to cut emissions are tripled according to a new UN report. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released its annual Emissions Gap Report on Tuesday — 168 pages, compiled by 57 leading scientists from 33 institutions across 25 countries — calling on governments to act immediately, within the next decade, to limit global warming to 1.5 C or 2 C by 2100.

Some key highlights from the report include:
Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) have increased 1.5 per cent annually over the past decade. By 2030, annual emissions need to be 15 gigatonnes of CO2 lower to reach the 2 C goal, and 32 gigatonnes lower for 1.5 C. GHG emissions have to drop by 2.7 per cent per year from 2020 to 2030 for the 2 C goal, and by 7.6 per cent per year for the 1.5 C target.To reach these goals, efforts must increase at least fivefold for the 1.5 C goal and threefold for the 2 C.Of the G20 nations, of which Canada is one, only five countries have committed to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) set out in the Paris Agreement, which outline each country's efforts to reduce national emissions to limit global warming to 2 C below pre-industrial levels.
Canada has not committed to a target that is in line with this scenario.1 

Another report by Climate Analytics, released for the UN Secretary General’s Climate Action Summit, shows how fast coal needs to be phased out in order to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement, in light of the latest science from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

No fossil fuels 

It also assesses whether the efforts to reduce coal use in electricity generation since the adoption of the Paris Agreement put us any closer to a pathway consistent with its 1.5°C limit.

 Key messages

Although the new coal pipeline shrunk by 75% since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, cancelling new coal is nowhere near enough to meet its 1.5°C limit Phasing out coal from the electricity sector is the single most important step to get in line with 1.5°C Governments are not on track to phase coal out of the electricity sector in line with the 1.5°C in the Paris Agreement To get on a 1.5°C pathway, they will need to introduce effective regulation to shut down coal plants before the end of their technical lifetime and to significantly limit their use in the meantime, and refrain from building new coal capacity It is critical that governments significantly scale up their NDCs by 2020. The new pledges must include clear commitments to phase out coal, remove subsidies for fossil fuels, and build support for renewables and energy efficiency2

Ralph Torrie of Torrie Smith Associates has prepared a new report that provides a 'pathway' to get Nova Scotia off coal by 2030.

Nova Scotia off coal path

Jack Julian of CBC News quotes the Ecology Action Centre 'We've known that this is technically possible for a long time.'

 This would include:
"Deep-energy retrofits" for 80 per cent of homes and commercial buildings, which would help reduce power consumption by seven per cent of current levels. Forty per cent of personal vehicles being either fully electric or plug-in hybrid cars. Doubling the province's wind power capacity.Increases in solar power. Building a second transmission link to New Brunswick, which would allow greater reliance on hydro power from Quebec. Torries said the cost of making these changes and the corresponding savings would almost net out.3

Continuous improvement is an engineering and economically sound strategy to combat the climate emergency.

Transportation is the largest source of carbon pollution in the U.S., but it doesn't have to be that way.

 Carmakers have proven time and time again that they are fully capable of making their vehicles cleaner and more fuel efficient. The government just has to ask them. Energy expert Hal Harvey explains. Youtube A Plan For Zero Carbon Transportation4

The path to mitigate the effects of the climate emergency can be followed using best practices of engineering and economics.

References

1	(2019, November 26). Earth set to warm 3.2 C by 2100 unless efforts are tripled, new .... Retrieved November 26, 2019, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/un-emissions-report-1.5373154
2	(n.d.). Coal phase-out: Insights from the IPCC Special Report on 1.5 .... Retrieved November 26, 2019, from https://climateanalytics.org/publications/2019/coal-phase-out-insights-from-the-ipcc-special-report-on-15c-and-global-trends-since-2015/
3	(2019, November 26). HOLD-New report provides 'pathway' to get Nova Scotia off .... Retrieved November 26, 2019, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/ecology-action-centre-report-nova-scotia-coal-free-by-2030-1.5373002
4	(2019, September 19). A Plan For Zero Carbon Transportation - YouTube. Retrieved November 26, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQzSyMnEw-o