News Release
The Low Carbon Energy Innovation Project Reaches a New Milestone
The Low Carbon Energy Innovation Project Reaches a New Milestone
May 18, 2023 – QUEST Canada and Pollution Probe’s Low Carbon Energy Innovation project has reached a new milestone with the establishment of its Community of Practice (CoP) and the launch of the project’s research component.
Building on QUEST Canada and Pollution Probe’s successful Innovation Sandboxes initiative, the Low Carbon Energy Innovation project examines how Canada can create the necessary regulatory, policy, and market conditions to deploy low-carbon innovation throughout the country.
To date, QUEST Canada and Pollution Probe have hosted two Community of Practice meetings, with over 100 participants from across the country in attendance, providing a space for practitioners to share tips and best practices, ask questions, and receive peer-to-peer support on matters relating to low-carbon energy innovation. The first CoP meeting included an overview of the project and break-out rooms for participants to discuss the barriers and solutions for low carbon innovation. In the second CoP meeting, an overview of the current state of low carbon innovation was shared, as well as a presentation from the Ontario Energy Board (OEB), detailing innovation policies in Ontario and OEB’s recently published Innovation Handbook.
In addition to the successes achieved during the project’s first two CoP meetings, QUEST Canada and Pollution Probe have also launched the research component of the project. Research will culminate with the creation of a database of innovation policies alongside a scorecard. Currently, a literature review of existing energy and innovation policies (in every jurisdiction) is being compiled, alongside plans to conduct targeted interviews and sectoral and jurisdictional discussion groups.
This project is made possible with funding support from the Suncor Energy Foundation (SEF).
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About Pollution Probe
Pollution Probe is Canada’s longest-standing environmental organization, pursuing environmental gains by working productively with governments, industry, and the public, with a steadfast commitment to Clean Air, Clean Water, and a Healthy Planet. Pollution Probe engages people as thinkers to nurture and act on areas of consensus.
QUEST Canada is a national non-profit that supports communities in Canada on their pathway to net-zero. Since 2007, we’ve been facilitating connections, empowering community champions and influencing decision-makers to implement efficient and integrated energy systems that best meet community needs and maximize local opportunities. We develop tools and resources, convene stakeholders and rights holders and advise decision-makers — all with the goal of encouraging and enabling communities to contribute to Canada’s net-zero goals.
Media Contact
To set up an interview, please contact:
Melissa Schweyer, Senior Lead, Communications
t: 866-494-2770 ext. 704
e: [email protected]
Quotes
Tonja Leach, Executive Director at QUEST Canada
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“Canada has only begun to scratch the surface of the scale and depth of innovation needed in the energy sector to generate transformational, large-scale change in a short period of time. This is why we’ve recruited a diverse roster of talented and accomplished energy professionals and experts to join our Community of Practice. And why we’re also implementing cutting-edge research with the aim to capture the current state of low carbon innovation in the energy sector. This research will help us better understand how to innovate our governance structures to encourage wide-scale implementation across Canada.”
Richard Carlson, Director of Energy at Pollution Probe
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“While we have much of the technology we need, it must be deployed faster than it has been in the past. The challenge is to develop an adequate set of policies, programs and regulatory tools that will enable the deployment and scaling of available technologies in order to meet our net-zero targets. Our Low Carbon Energy Innovation project helps meet this challenge.”
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