{"id":15892,"date":"2025-07-03T16:27:49","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T16:27:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/?post_type=rbc_tl&p=15892\/climate-crunch-how-canada-can-power-japans-energy-and-climate-ambitions"},"modified":"2025-07-16T17:48:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T17:48:15","slug":"canadas-other-green-superpower","status":"publish","type":"rbc_tl","link":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/climate-action-institute\/climate-crunch\/canadas-other-green-superpower\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate Crunch: Canada’s other green superpower"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u2794 A Silicon Valley of direct air capture set to debut in Alberta<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 Global abundance: Exploring the New Energy Age<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 Brazil is cooking up sustainable soybeans for China<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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

\u2794 The Silicon Valley of direct air capture is taking shape in central Alberta.<\/strong> Quebec-based Deep Sky, backed by a US$40-million grant from Bill Gates\u2019 Breakthrough Energy, is opening its direct air capture innovation and commercialization centre in Innisfail in central Alberta<\/a><\/strong> this summer. The facility\u2014seen as a hub for direct air capture activities\u2014will serve as a sandbox for firms to test direct-air carbon-sucking technologies before they scale their operations commercially. Eight companies\u2014from Canada, the U.S. and Germany and others\u2014have already signed up. In a vote of confidence, the Alberta government<\/a><\/strong> also recently invested $5 million in DeepSky from the province\u2019s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction Regulation (TIER) fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 Ontario is crafting a new wood construction strategy.<\/strong> The recently announced Advanced Wood Construction Plan<\/a><\/strong> aims to promote wood use in larger and taller structures to accelerate projects, lower costs by as much as 20%. Swapping cement and steel with wood would also help lower emissions in a sector that accounts for 18%<\/a><\/strong> of Canada\u2019s total emissions. Widespread adoption of wood, specifically mass timber, as a substitute or complement to concrete and steel could cut embodied emissions in buildings by as much as 25%, according to our report<\/a><\/strong> Mass Timber<\/em>. The five-year plan comes as the province\u2019s $20-billion industry is facing punitive U.S. tariffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 Forecasters are scrambling to assess demand from data centres in the U.S.<\/strong> Electricity demand is now set to grow 25% by 2030 and 78% by 2050, compared to 2023 levels, according to a new report by ICF, a consulting firm<\/a><\/strong>. That\u2019s an annual growth rate of 3.2% through 2030 (1.4% previously) and 2.2% (1.1% previously) through 2050 and contrasts with the past two decades when U.S. electricity demand was essentially flat. The strain on capacity<\/a><\/strong> could lead to a doubling of electricity prices by 2050, ICF warns. Texas, along with California and PJM region (covering 13 mid-Atlantic and Midwest states)\u2014markets already importing Canadian electricity\u2014will see the highest demand growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 Brazil is developing bespoke, sustainable soybeans for China. <\/strong>Inspired by its successful Boi China beef model, the Latin American country aims to develop “Soy China,” through a supply chain that aligns with China’s environmental standards and runs on renewable energy. It’s also seen as a way for China to counter the EU Deforestation Regulations (EUDR), which have much stricter rules. Many countries (inside and outside the EU) have raised concerns about the EUDR because of its stringent traceability requirements that do not align with conventional soybean supply chains. And Brazil and China’s move is alternate route for soybeans to flow. The U.S. Department of Agriculture<\/a><\/strong> recently warned that sustainable soybeans would directly challenge American and Canadian exporters’ market share in China.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Nature capital: Canada\u2019s other green power<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By Lisa Ashton<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As climate change disrupts the U.K.\u2019s landscapes\u2014from the Scottish Highlands to the Somerset Wetlands\u2014the country is facing a \u00a397-billion ($181-billion) nature asset deficit. The Green Finance Institute<\/a> <\/strong>(GFI) estimates that planned public spending on conservation and restoration by the government is well short of delivering on its binding commitments, including the 25-year Environment Plan and the U.K.\u2019s 30×30 targets under the UN Biodiversity targets. It also presents real risks and losses of between \u00a3150-\u00a3300 billion of U.K.\u2019s GDP by 2030. The U.K. government is now seeking ideas<\/a> <\/strong>from businesses, investors, and innovators to protect the \u201cnatural foundations of its economy,\u201d and spur growth in its \u201cburgeoning\u201d nature services sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canada can draw lessons from the U.K. experience. It\u2019s home to landmark investments in several initiatives including the Great Bear Sea project finance for permanence (PFP), and watershed policy commitments to protect and conserve 30% of Canada\u2019s land and water by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canada\u2019s is truly a nature powerhouse with riches<\/a><\/strong> that are second to none:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 It\u2019s one of just five countries that collectively contain more than 70% of the world\u2019s remaining intact ecosystems;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 20% of the world\u2019s total freshwater;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 25% of the world\u2019s wetlands;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 24% of the world\u2019s boreal forests;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 the world\u2019s longest coastline;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 the world\u2019s longest coastline;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 ecosystems in Canada provide essential habitat for approximately 80,000 species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, Canada, like many others, has not been able to unlock nature finance at scale to address declining natural capital as a share of GDP\u2014roughly 70% in 1995 to about 40% today\u2014and mitigate the risks associated with a natural environment that\u2019s experiencing more deterioration than the U.S. and the U.K. Wildfires year-to-date alone could risk 0.4% of Saskatchewan\u2019s GDP and 0.2% for Alberta, according to Statistics Canada estimates<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nature finance is in its infancy, but a pathway to build natural capital in Canada and investments is slowly being charted. In 2022, the Government of Canada issued its first green bond, valued at $5 billion, with a portion of funds going to nature-based projects including financing that supports the adoption of climate-smart agriculture practices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exploring nature finance is an opportunity to build greater resilience in Canada\u2019s natural resource dependent economy driven by fuel, food, fertilizer and forestry production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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