{"id":18804,"date":"2025-09-11T15:21:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T15:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/?post_type=rbc_tl&p=18804\/emissions-energy-economics-canadas-latest-mega-project"},"modified":"2025-09-19T18:04:36","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T18:04:36","slug":"climate-crunch-dawn-of-a-new-major-projects-era","status":"publish","type":"rbc_tl","link":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/climate-action-institute\/climate-crunch\/climate-crunch-dawn-of-a-new-major-projects-era\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate Crunch: Dawn of a new Major Projects era"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u2794 Nurturing nature at New York Climate Week<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 The EV mandate is kicked down the road<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 General Fusion\u2019s new lease of life comes as global race heats up<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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

\u2794 The Canada EV mandate is on hold.<\/strong> Another Trudeau-era climate policy suffered a blow when the Mark Carney government paused a rule that mandated automakers to ensure EVs accounted for 20% of sales from 2026. Trade headwinds from the U.S. are partly the reason as is the end of U.S. EV tax credits later this month. Automakers are already reeling from an estimated US$12-billion<\/a> in tariff costs so far. Several are caught in limbo as they have sunk billions in EV supply chains on a market that\u2019s suddenly lost momentum. It\u2019s a microcosm of the bigger climate-versus-economy debate that\u2019s raging around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 The Business Development Bank of Canada is going big on critical minerals. <\/strong>The funding agency\u2019s $200-million Industrial Innovation Venture Fund II<\/a>, is supporting early-stage startups focused on several areas including key raw materials for clean-energy infrastructure and electric vehicles. Canada needs it: latest data from the Canadian Venture Capital Private Equity Association<\/a> (CVCA) shows Canadian clean-tech firms raised a paltry $191 million in the first half of 2025, compared to $657 million during the same period last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 A new global oil rush. <\/strong>Norway<\/a> likes to imagine itself as the land of the world\u2019s richest\u2014and most ESG-savvy\u2014wealth fund and electric vehicles, but it\u2019s all driven by fossil fuels. But Sylvi Listhaug, whose Progress Party surged to second place in the recently concluded elections, wants Norway to be the \u201clast country in the world to stop (oil) production.\u201d It\u2019s a recurring theme, with Canada among scores of other countries catching the new oil fever. What would it mean for global emissions? Investments in upstream oil was set to fall this year for the first time since 2020, the IEA projects<\/a>. It could just be a blip.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Dawn of a new Major Projects era<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dawn Farrell, the first head of the brand-new Major Projects Office (MPO), is tasked with fast-tracking several projects that could raise the country\u2019s emissions\u2014or not, depending on how she navigates the country\u2019s twin environmental and economic imperatives. Could Farrell accomplish Canada\u2019s elusive trifecta of building faster, accelerating sustainable growth, and strengthening national unity?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her nearly decade-long tenure as CEO of Calgary-based utility giant TransAlta Corp., is instructive on how the executive has operated in the past:<\/p>\n\n\n\n