It’s no wonder that Canadians are among the most skeptical people in the world when it comes to confidence in their government’s capacity to deal with climate change. That was the finding of a global Ipsos survey earlier this year, and there’s no reason to think that this summer’s record-breaking wildfires across Canada will change things much.
Much has been made of the federal government’s ban of single-use plastics like straws, takeout containers, grocery bags and cutlery. Though environmentalists claim it was a significant win for the environment, the evidence suggests it will be a net environmental negative in the long run. Not to mention that it will increase the hospitality sector’s costs as it switches to more expensive alternatives. In sum, the ban amounted to symbolic policy, driven more by uninformed perception than reality.
New technology, environmental policy, and bigger size are pricing Spaniards out of the market on new cars.
When the EU tolled the death knell for the combustion engine late last year, prohibiting sales of new combustion engine cars starting in 2035, the opposition warned of creating a “Habana effect.”
Cuba is famous for the old, classic cars on its streets. Behind the charming postcard aesthetic is the harsh reality that the vast majority of Cubans simply can’t afford to buy new cars and so manage the only option available—keep the old ones running.
Spain is already a bit Havana-esque when it comes to cars. The top-selling car in Spain has the following profile: it’s fifteen years old and runs on diesel.
Canada must double or triple its non-carbon electricity output to meet its 2050 net-zero emission targets, says a Newfoundland and Labrador submission to the Senate energy committee. The submission says meeting the targets is “likely not possible” without more federal subsidies.
“To achieve its goal of a net zero electricity sector by 2035 Canada will need 121 terawatt hours of new supply to replace carbon sources,” Energy NL wrote in the submission, as reported by Blacklock’s Reporter. It says this amount of electricity generation is equivalent to that of “four Churchill Falls.”
Convoys of tractors were seen on the motorway heading to the Flemish city of Antwerp this morning as approximately 1,000 farmers and assorted supporters gathered to protest government hypocrisy over the implementation of new nitrogen emission regulations, which they say will shatter their livelihoods.
This is just the latest example of agrarian discontent growing throughout Europe. The Flemish Farmers Defence Force (FDF) aims to copy the recent advances made by their Dutch counterparts with direct action against government moves to enforce new nitrogen cuts, which they feel will cripple the Belgian agricultural industry.
When Vijay Jayaraj was growing up in India, power blackouts were frequent. He said the blackouts affected everything from schooling to employment—because when there was no power, it was difficult to get much done.
He pointed to the cotton industry of South India, a major employer.
“But all the industries were disrupted whenever there were phases … of continuous blackouts, eventually translating into thousands of lost jobs,” he told The Epoch Times
So Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault is going to Beijing from Aug. 26–31 to cuddle up to the Chinese Communist Party.
If you think that is too strong a contention, consider how Guilbeault is executive vice chairperson on the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED).
Guilbeault’s loyalty is not to Canada.
The departure of EU ‘climate’ Commissioner Frans Timmermans—who will be taking his chances in the upcoming Dutch election—may well be a pivotal moment for the future of ‘green’ politics. Timmermans is the face of the European Union’s drive for ever more intrusive regulations that are meant to combat climate change—regulations that are being met with resistance from member states. Despite the Commission’s best efforts to push the Green Deal, exorbitant economic costs and voter discontent have sparked a renewed interest in nuclear energy throughout Europe.
If one examines Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) data on a regular basis, it is easy to discern wind turbines generate power frequently when it’s unneeded.
Also, most of those occurrences happen during the spring and fall seasons when electricity demand is low.
It is difficult to decide whether Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault’s forthcoming trip to China is the result of extreme naiveté or outsized egotism.
More likely it is a factor of the two, so perhaps he is guilty of egotistical naiveté.
As part of his mission to save the world, Guilbeault is jetting off to Beijing later this month to talk about climate change.
Once you realize Guilbeault is a ChiCom asset his campaign to destroy Canada’s prosperity makes sense.
With Steven Guilbeault set to be the first Canadian cabinet minister to visit China since 2018, questions have been raised about his role with a Chinese regime environmental body.
Mr. Guilbeault, in charge of Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), will go to China from Aug. 26 to 31 to participate in the annual general meeting of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED).
More than 300 cameras installed for London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) were vandalised or stolen between April and mid-August, the BBC can reveal.
Over four months, the Met received 339 reports of camera cables being damaged, or cameras being stolen or obscured.
The actual number of cameras affected is likely to be even higher as one report can represent multiple cameras.
h/t Mauser
How come Justin Trudeau’s environment minister, Steven Guilbeault, gives China a pass on its emissions but won’t even bother to negotiate new clean electricity regulations or fossil fuel subsidies with his fellow Canadians in Alberta?
Is it because the Communist Chinese government’s politics are closer to his own than those of the conservative Alberta government? Does Guilbeault have more in common with Beijing than Alberta?
With July inflation ramping up again on Tuesday, it’s obvious the battle ain’t over yet. The headline inflation rate jumped to 3.3 per cent from last month’s 2.8 per cent. While mortgage costs and food are major contributors to our stubborn inflation, energy prices have risen 5.8 per cent in the past four months, thanks in part to the carbon tax hike last April 1.
As the world continues its march to net-zero emissions by 2050, an interesting debate is rearing its head as to whether the energy price inflation will affect monetary policy. That point was made last year by Isabel Schnabel, a member of the European Central Bank’s Executive Board: “As we build a more sustainable economy, we face a new age of energy inflation … that can be expected to lead to a prolonged period of upside pressure on inflation,” she warned
Canada will be investing $644 million in a new battery materials production plant to be built in Becancour, Que., by automaker Ford Motor Co. and South Korean companies EcoProBM and SK On Co.
The federal government and the province of Quebec will each provide conditional loans of $322 million to build the plant, which is valued at more than $1.2 billion and is expected to create over 345 jobs, the federal government said in a press release on Aug. 17.
Fun fact!
Direct fed aid to electric carmakers now up to $32B, twice the annual output of the entire Canadian auto industry. "Remarkable," said @FP_Champagne. https://t.co/EZxEGfjyTi #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/Y8zIKmgfFn
— Blacklock's Reporter (@mindingottawa) August 18, 2023
