QUESTION PERIOD — Environment and Climate Change
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
November 28, 2024
Senator Gold, my question today focuses on our efforts to clean the electricity generation mix and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions in the territories. We know that diesel is a reliable option for heat and electricity, especially in Nunavut, but it is costly to purchase and transport, and it presents serious environmental disadvantages.
What is the federal government doing to reduce the North’s reliability on diesel power generation? As the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources reported nearly 10 years ago, electricity systems in the territories were aging, underperforming and at capacity, and there was a lack of financial capacity to advance major projects. What advancements and achievements have there been since 2015 in greening the energy mix in the territories?
Thank you for your question and for highlighting what is a real issue. When I visited the North with the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans many years ago, I saw first-hand the reliance upon diesel and the consequences of that.
The government has launched the Northern REACHE program, which helps support northern and Indigenous communities in their transition to renewable, sustainable and affordable sources of energy. To your question, since 2016, Northern REACHE has funded 140 projects and invested over $29 million in capacity building, renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. More recently under the program, the government announced $300 million in funding to support communities launching their energy projects, such as wind, solar, geothermal, hydro and biomass, along with a new streamlined service model for communities seeking to access such resources and clean energy funding.
Thank you for that response, Senator Gold.
According to Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada’s departmental plan, we hope to replace 7 million litres of diesel with clean energy by 2030. In three years, we’ve cumulated only 830,000 litres of displaced diesel. Are you confident we will meet our target? Are small modular reactors being considered as a reliable and affordable alternative to diesel?
Thank you. The government does believe it’s on track to reduce consumption by 7 million litres by 2030. I understand that 1 million litres of diesel was avoided in 2023-24. The annual estimated reduction of 1 million litres of diesel results from 3.6 million kilowatts of installed clean energy capacity, which is equivalent to an estimated reduction of 2,800 tonnes of greenhouse gases.
