Do your candidates support fossil-free electricity by 2030?

By Angela Bischoff, Director of the Ontario Clean Air Alliance

One of the most important things we can do to reduce our climate impact is to “electrify everything.”

Switching to electric vehicles and heat pumps for heating and cooling buildings can help us rapidly reduce our greenhouse gas pollution. But the impact of these actions will be far higher if we have a zero-carbon electricity grid than if we continue to use coal and fossil gas to generate some of our power.

Fortunately, Canada is well on its way to a fossil-fuel free electricity system. Only 18% of our power is produced by burning fossil fuels. In Ontario, it is just 6% thanks to our groundbreaking coal phase out.

Canada has enormous untapped renewable power potential which we can combine with our large existing waterpower systems to create a Pan-Canadian zero-carbon electricity grid by 2030.

There is a big role for the federal government in making this happen.  It can provide tax credits for the development of solar and wind power. Two of our most fossil dependent provinces – Alberta and Saskatchewan – have enormous solar and wind potential.

It can develop and support an ambitious national deep retrofit program for buildings so that every kilowatt power of power we produce is used efficiently.

It can invest in electric vehicles and bi-directional chargers to reduce pollution and protect our manufacturing industries

And it can support enhanced electricity trade and cooperation between our provinces that have abundant renewable power and those that are reliant on fossil and other sources.

What you can do

Helping Canada get to a zero-carbon electricity grid as quickly as possible is one of the most effective actions the next government can take to lower our climate impact.  Please contact the candidates in your riding and ask them if they support moving to a zero-carbon grid by 2030 and what they will do to make this happen.