Clean50 Honouree Tonja Leach, Executive Director at QUEST Canada, highlights why there is a need for policy solutions aimed at harnessing the key role communities play in leading Canada toward a sustainable, net-zero future.
Local governments play a central role in the global response to climate change. In Canada, municipalities are estimated to have direct control or influence control over more than 50% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within their boundaries and are on the front lines of dealing with climate impacts to critical infrastructure and community services (e.g., public health).
By now it should be crystal clear that economy-wide decarbonization is not an easy task. But the jury is still out on the reasons why lowering emissions to net-zero by 2050 is so daunting.
As COP 27 wraps up, the impacts of climate change have societies around the world scrambling to decarbonize through the deployment of electric mobility, solar and wind. Introducing these technologies is a major challenge for the traditional electric grid, as they can cause more volatility on electrical networks.