{"id":12361,"date":"2025-05-22T16:16:46","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T16:16:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/?post_type=rbc_tl&p=12361\/"},"modified":"2025-05-30T14:09:55","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T14:09:55","slug":"climate-crunch-the-fixer-the-insider-and-the-skeptic","status":"publish","type":"rbc_tl","link":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/climate-action-institute\/climate-crunch\/climate-crunch-the-fixer-the-insider-and-the-skeptic\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate Crunch: The fixer, the insider and the skeptic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u2794 A battery storage project going live and an approved SMR project suggests Canada can build<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 Mark Carney\u2019s cabinet: The fixer, the insider and the skeptic<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 General Fusion needs financial infusion<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hot takes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 Canada is a methane-busting powerhouse.<\/strong> The International Energy Agency <\/strong><\/a>ranks Canada as among the lowest in methane intensity among major oil and gas producers including the United States, Russia and Iran. Emissions from methane, a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, remains at a high level globally despite pledges and available solutions that can lower fossil fuel emissions at \u201cnear zero\u201d costs, the IEA estimates. Worse: methane emissions remains widely underreported globally, the agency said in its latest Methane Tracker report<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Canada<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 The U.S. is going after solar power\u2014and showers.<\/strong> A new U.S. Republican proposal aims to rollback popular tax credits for home solar and electric vehicles. The sweeping proposal to gut several incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act and other programs will save the government US$560-billion over a decade, but raise U.S. household costs by 7% by 2035, analysts <\/strong><\/a>say. The cuts could also impede U.S. efforts to cut emissions by 43% to 48% below 2005 over the next decade. Another U.S. proposal aims to scrap rules that conserve water in shower and toilets; also on the block: the Energy Star program that\u2019s been credited for boosting energy efficiency and cutting utility bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 The number of rare earth projects in Canada currently stand at 12.<\/strong> These constitute projects that are active in the exploration, resource estimation, or the preliminary economic assessment phase. Three separation and processing facilities and two rare earth elements (REE) recycling plants already exist, according to a report by Vivan Sorab<\/strong><\/a>, senior manager, clean technology. Fixing a couple of bottlenecks could help fast track the 12 projects. First, government investment, such as provincial funding in Saskatchewan<\/strong><\/a>, can help bring rare earth processing facilities closer to commercialization. Offtake agreements at competitive prices could also help Canada\u2019s REE industry get a foothold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 Planting trees isn\u2019t enough to tackle climate change.<\/strong> The world needs a global industry focused on removing carbon via nature-based and man-made solutions from the atmosphere at scale. Listen to a new episode of Disruptors X CDL: Innovation Era<\/strong><\/a>, where John Stackhouse<\/strong><\/a> and Sonia Sennik<\/strong><\/a> sit down with David Keith<\/strong><\/a>, a pioneer in carbon removal and founder of Carbon Engineering, to explore what it will take to build a low-carbon future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

POLICY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fixer, the insider and the skeptic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Tim Hodgson<\/strong>, the new federal energy and resource minister, has been charged by his boss Mark Carney to make Canada a \u201cleading energy superpower.\u201d Hodgson will have to play the role of fixer<\/strong> in the resources sector, that includes mending relationships with Western provinces and Indigenous groups to make that dream come true. So far, he has been warmly received in the West, where grievances over Ottawa\u2019s attitudes<\/strong><\/a> towards fossil fuels run deep\u2014and remain live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julie Dabrusin<\/strong>, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change of Canada, has elicited a different reaction from oil and gas provinces. Her bio boasts <\/strong><\/a>a \u201cstrong stance against oil sands expansion,\u201d raising concerns. But her insider<\/strong> knowledge as a parliamentary secretary to the Ministers of Natural Resources and Environment and Climate Change, and a member of the Natural Resources Committee, will be vital for Ottawa to streamline and fast-track project developments, including oil and gas pipelines. The Prime Minister<\/strong><\/a> seems open to the idea of new fossil fuel pipelines, as is Quebec<\/strong><\/a>. \u201cQuebecers are saying, \u2018There\u2019s no way Trump is going to control the oil we produce in Alberta.\u2019 So, can we export it to Europe through Quebec instead of being stuck with Trump? There\u2019s openness. I feel things are shifting,\u201d Premier Francois Legault<\/strong><\/a> said recently, adding that no concrete projects had been proposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While former environment minister Steve Guilbeault<\/strong> is now in charge of the heritage file, his skepticism<\/strong> about the economics of an east-to-west oil pipelines on his first day back in parliament, has also raised eyebrows. His portfolio appears to include Parks Canada<\/strong><\/a>, which gives him a platform to raise issues of biodiversity and nature erosion brought about by climate change. Committee to watch:<\/strong> Cabinet committees are where most of the business of government is transacted. One committee to watch will be the Build Canada<\/strong> committee, tasked with considering issues as diverse as housing, infrastructure, Indigenous economic prosperity, climate action and a host of others. The tag-team of Hodgson and Chrystia Freeland<\/strong>\u2013chair and vice-chair of the committee\u2013will provide a mix of private sector expertise and cabinet experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLEANTECH<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Financial infusion for General Fusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

General Fusion needs fresh capital. The B.C.-based nuclear fusion company<\/strong><\/a> announced a technological breakthrough that brings it one step closer to bringing zero-carbon fusion tech to the electricity grid. But the company also cut its headcount due to \u201cunexpected and urgent financing constraints,\u201d and is seeking new capital \u201cto finish the job,\u201d CEO Greg Twinney<\/strong><\/a> said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nuclear fusion mimics how stars create energy\u2014an incredibly complex technology that\u2019s perpetually \u201cfive years away,\u201d but has gained investor interest in recent years on the back of several tech advances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

General Fusion also needs the stars to align. While the Canadian federal and provincial governments have injected funds in the company in the past, Twinney is looking for more financing including from the private sector, as the company\u2019s competing with \u201cnationally funded fusion programs around the world.\u201d Since 2002, the company has raised US$440.53 million, according to PitchBook, and include<\/s> counts Temasek, BDC Capital, and Chrysalix Venture Capital and Jeff Bezos as investors. The company recently hired the former CEO of the Amazon.com Inc. founder\u2019s rocket company Blue Origin LLC as a strategic adviser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. has been spending US$800 million annually<\/strong><\/a> in fusion technology in recent years, while China has injected between US$1-billion to US$1.5 billion annually. There are now around 98 demonstration plants or prototypes operating globally, another 13 under construction and 33 more planned<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Domestic rivals are also nipping at General Fusion\u2019s heels. Montreal\u2019s Fuse Energy raised US$32 million in new funding late last year, with the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) as its largest collaborator and potential customer. The idea is to make Fuse to NNSA, what SpaceX is to NASA, said its 24-year-old CEO JC Btaiche.<\/strong><\/a><\/strong> Last year, the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories<\/strong><\/a> called for a Canadian Fusion Strategy to help the country advance its net-zero emissions target by 2050. Canada provides the least government support for fusion development on a per capita basis among its G7 peers, CNL noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n