CALGARY — Chris Severson-Baker, Executive Director of the Pembina Institute made the following statement in response to the Government of Alberta giving oral notice of a motion under the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act motion to challenge the federal government’s draft Clean Electricity Regulations (CER):
“Invoking the Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act in response to the Clean Electricity Regulations will drive major new investment in the energy sector out of the province. It is an investment killer. It is a step backwards, not forwards. It introduces unnecessary and theatrical red tape instead of making progress on building a clean, affordable reliable electricity grid for the province.
“Opposing the Clean Electricity Regulations and the clean, affordable electricity that the regulations will help deliver is a dead-end strategy for the province. In June of this year, the Pembina Institute produced a report showing that a clean electricity grid can be achieved by 2035 with cost savings to Albertans. The result of the research that we conducted with the University of Alberta was published in the report Zeroing In: Pathways to an affordable net-zero grid in Alberta. We made all our data available so Albertans can see for themselves. By contrast, the Alberta government has claimed that a net-zero grid is unfeasible by 2035 while refusing to release the report they commissioned to assess how the Clean Electricity Regulations could be met.
"As the world gathers in Dubai for COP28 this week to discuss among other things, the tripling of global renewable energy generation by 2030 and the future of fossil fuels, Alberta is falling further behind. Alberta has no plan to decarbonize its electricity supply and this action, in addition to its decision to place a moratorium on approvals of clean, cheap renewable energy, highlights how deeply unserious Alberta is about doing its fair share to reduce emissions.
"Pembina Institute calls on the Alberta Government to return to good faith negotiations with the federal government to make progress toward a clean electricity grid by 2035 that is key to ensuring future prosperity and new jobs, while providing reliable, affordable energy that will be the backbone of this province’s economy, as it will be for every other modern industrialized economy.”
Chris Severson-Baker and other Pembina Institute experts are available for interviews upon request.
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Contact
Laurence Miall
Communications Manager, Industrial Decarbonization /
Responsable des relations médias francophones
Pembina Institute
587-606-4185 or 438-878-1703
Background
Report: Zeroing In: Pathways to an affordable net-zero grid in Alberta
Report: Grid-Locked: Risks of unabated gas-fired electricity for a clean grid in Alberta
Submission: Pembina Institute response to the proposed frame for the Clean Electricity Regulations
