The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) created a 2030 Energy Strategy, which sets out the GNWT’s long-term approach to supporting secure, affordable, and sustainable energy in the Northwest Territories. The strategy highlights six main objectives:
- Work together to find solutions: community engagement, participation and empowerment.
- Reduce GHG emissions from electricity generation in diesel powered communities by an average of 25%.
- Reduce GHG emissions from transportation by 10% on a per person basis.
- Increase the share of renewable energy used for space heating to 40%.
- Increase residential, commercial, and government building energy efficiency by 15%.
- A longer term vision: develop the NWT’s energy potential, address industry emissions, and do our part to meet national climate change objectives.
The GNWT started implementing the strategy through their 2019-2022 Energy Action Plan, and started seeking input from the public to develop their 2022-2025 Energy Action Plan. As part of the public input process, the GNWT asked stakeholders to reply to four questions about the progress made in the 2019-2022 Energy Action Plan as well as opportunities for improvement. These questions included:
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What actions and initiatives from the 2019-2022 Energy Action Plan should the GNWT keep in the next Action Plan, and why?
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How could the GNWT improve the current actions and initiatives?
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What new project or action could the GNWT initiate in the 2022-2025 Energy Action Plan to reduce emissions, help stabilize or decrease the cost of energy, and maintain energy security in the North?
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What is the most important energy issue currently affecting your community? How could it be addressed?
This document includes recommendations from the Pembina Institute for the 2022-2025 Energy Action Plan including:
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Increasing opportunities for Indigenous and community leadership in the clean energy transition by:
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Supporting the development of community-led community energy plans
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Actively developing partnerships and supporting Indigenous-led energy projects
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Implementing a formalized, government-backed IPP policy with favourable and accurate rates
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Ramping up emissions reduction plans to track with federal and international GHG reduction commitments
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Approaching the clean energy transition as an economic opportunity
