{"id":15032,"date":"2025-06-19T17:11:33","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T17:11:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/?post_type=rbc_tl&p=15032\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T21:06:39","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T21:06:39","slug":"climate-crunch-how-canada-can-power-japans-energy-and-climate-ambitions","status":"publish","type":"rbc_tl","link":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/climate-action-institute\/climate-crunch\/climate-crunch-how-canada-can-power-japans-energy-and-climate-ambitions\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate Crunch: How Canada can power Japan\u2019s energy and climate ambitions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u2794 Why Canada\u2019s critical to G7+\u2019s metal security<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 Peak IEA vs OPEC fight<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 A geothermal breakthrough<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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

\u2794 Canadians slammed the brakes on zero-emission car purchases in Q1.<\/strong> Sales were down 19.5% compared to the same period last year, while total light-duty vehicles, that includes hybrids and plug-ins, fell 3.2% during the period. New vehicle registrations accounted for 9.5% of total car sales in Q1, down from an impressive 18.9% in Q4, S&P Global <\/strong><\/a>data shows. A confluence of factors tripped up sales, including the end of the $5,000 federal rebate, a drop in Quebec\u2019s rebate program, and tariff uncertainty. Tesla is also losing its brand appeal in Canada, securing less than 10% market share in April, down from 50% a few years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 G7 leaders were not the only luminaries in Alberta this month.<\/strong> Haitham al-Ghais, secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, showed up in Calgary for the Global Energy Show <\/strong><\/a>with the bold claim that \u201cthere is no peak in oil demand on the horizon.\u201d Over the past few years, OPEC and the International Energy Agency have bickered over the peak dates of oil, which the Paris watchdog believes could come before 2030. OPEC also recently called out the IEA for cutting its electric vehicle forecast<\/strong><\/a> as proof it was backtracking on its peak-demand theory. But the IEA<\/strong><\/a> remains firm, noting in its June forecast<\/strong><\/a> that a \u201cpeak in global oil demand is still on the horizon.\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 The Arctic is hot territory.<\/strong> Three new books<\/strong><\/a> this year show how the top of the world is now top of mind, as it warms up for\u2014and to\u2014more commerce. In The North Pole<\/em>, Norwegian explorer Erling Kagge charts how explorers were traversing the region as early as the 1600s to find shortcuts from Europe to Asia. In End of the Earth<\/em>, fossil hunter Neil Shubin explores what the latest science tells us about the riches beneath. And in Arctic Passages<\/em>, journalist Keiran Mulvaney explores how thawing ice could cut trips from, say, Korea to the Netherlands, circumnavigating geopolitical flashpoints Suez and Panama canals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Critical Canada<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

From Nice to Kananaskis, critical minerals are on everyone\u2019s lips. But it was awkward in the coastal French city where delegates at the UN Ocean Conference criticized the U.S.\u2019s interest in deep-sea mining, suggesting that the White House\u2019s plans for offshore critical minerals set \u201ca dangerous precedent that could destabilize the entire system of global ocean governance,\u201d according to the International Seabed Authority<\/strong><\/a> (ISA). It seems that the business of developing clean energy inputs is not always, well, clean. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Kananaskis, Canada corralled G7 nations to at least agree on a critical minerals \u201caction plan <\/strong><\/a>.\u201d While a united and sweeping G7 statement was being avoided on several matters to avoid the ire of the Oval Office, leaders agreed on developing a framework to finance new mines and downstream processing facilities, and reduce reliance on China for key metals such as lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As a major producer of several commodities vital for the production of electric vehicles, defence, smart phones and wind turbines, Canada wants to play a key role, as part of its overarching \u201cenergy superpower\u201d ambition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s some awkwardness here, too as the federal government is starting to get some pushback: Chiefs of Ontario<\/strong><\/a> believe Bill C-5, proposed by the government to fast-track mining and other projects, will override environmental laws and \u201csidestep constitutional obligations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The private sector <\/strong><\/a>, which overwhelmingly wants all levels of governments to build an energy-agnostic utility corridor, also has a laundry list of concerns including cost overruns and delays of mega-projects, scope creep, stakeholder consultations, environmental assessments, and regulatory delays, according to a KPMG survey<\/strong><\/a> of Canadian executives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our report, The New Great Game<\/strong><\/a>, outlines how Canada can overcome challenges to scale its critical minerals sector. Further reading: Resourceful: How Canada can strike a new commodity deal with the U.S. and others<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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The Canada-Japan gas nexus<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Japan is the Canadian energy sector\u2019s new market\u2014with a climate twist. B.C. Premier David Eby was in Japan as recently as this month, showcasing his province\u2019s commodity resources, including energy. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Corp.\u2014an anchor investor in LNG Canada, will start receiving shipments from the facility starting in July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our new report on G7+ Strategy for Natural Gas <\/strong><\/a>, examines how member countries can leverage natural gas to ensure energy security. Canadian LNG can find a greater Asian foothold if it can align with Japan\u2019s Green Transformation Emissions Trading System (GX-ETS), which is central to the Asian country\u2019s carbon neutrality by 2050.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s how:<\/p>\n\n\n\n