A former head of BC Hydro is urging the provincial utility to abandon its “irresponsible” C$8.8-billion hydroelectric project at Site C on the Peace River in the province’s northeast.
Marc Eliesen, who also served as deputy minister of energy in both Ontario and Manitoba, calls the Site C project a “reckless” endeavour pushed by the ousted Liberal government that will impose a “huge financial burden” on the province.
In a series of landmark statements following the May 2017 election of the pro-reform President Moon Jae-in, Korean energy, transport and public service workers have called for “a just energy transition” allowing the sector to “function as a public asset under public control.” Unions support the new government’s decision to close the country’s aging coal-fired and nuclear power stations, and its planned reconsideration of two new nuclear facilities – Kori 5 and Kori 6.
Energy subsidies sizeable worldwide and projected to stay high
China top subsidizer in dollar terms, Ukraine in percent of GDP, and Qatar in per capita terms
Countries can reap fiscal and environment gains by reforming energy subsidies
Energy subsidies are projected at US$5.3 trillion in 2015, or 6.5 percent of global GDP, according to a recent IMF study. Most of this arises from countries setting energy taxes below levels that fully reflect the environmental damage associated with energy consumption.
The last time Site C was fully reviewed by the BC Utilities Commission, it was 1983. The commission investigated for just over a year and ultimately concluded that Site C was unneeded and recommended BC Hydro begin investigating alternative energy sources in earnest.
Thirty-four years later, with sunk costs increasing every day, the Site C review ordered this week by the new NDP government has an unusual urgency. But the questions on the dam’s economics are complex with a huge amount of data to be examined. The review needs to be quick, but not too quick.
Canadian authorities are seeking to beef up their oversight of publicly-traded companies so that they come clean about the costs of doing business on a warming planet.
Analysis of world’s lenders reveals many claim green credentials while still financing fuels like tar sands, oil and coal
June 21, 2017 - Some of the world’s top banks are continuing to lend tens of billions for extracting the most carbon-intensive fossil fuels, according to a report of top lenders.
OTTAWA, ON. (NEWS 1130) – The country’s highest court has ruled against two First Nations hoping to delay the controversial Site C dam project. It will not hear appeals from the West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations which had been asking for a judicial review of the mega-project which they feel was done without proper consultation.
The scientific debate about the feasibility of a full transition to renewable energy is suddenly becoming heated. Yet it may somehow be missing the point.
