Emissions Mitigation Essay

Currently, the Canadian government is taking several initiatives to control climate change. In 2017, Canada signed the Paris Accord and agreed to cut 30% of carbon emissions by 2030.

We once lived in a world lush and plentiful where we enjoyed all the natural resources peacefully. However at the beginning of the industrial revolution more people moved to the cities therefore increasing their dependency load. Fastforward to today and the world has seen a drastic change in the loss of natural resources as well as a number of health related illnesses like asthma. This is mainly due to the effects from carbon pollution, greenhouse gases and global warming. Canada as a country is thought of as environmentally aware and progressive. Actually has many issues regarding this topic and if it is not taken care of it will affect the future of the nation. I care about this topic because it has to

Missisauga and the Greater Toronto Area is littered with pollution, has poor air quality, is over-populated and contributes negatively to climate change more than any other region in Canada. While there are many factors that add to a regions contribution to climate change, I firmly believe that over-population is the root of factors. Over-population and the urbanization of smaller regions will produce double the greenhouse gases, pollution and contaminants of any other regions. While the GTA and Ontario is doing what it can to provide incentives for residents and help reverse the effects of climate change through mandated proposals, anything that is done will only slow the effects, never will they reverse or stop what is to come. Focus on ways to spread out the populations and conseve non-renewable resources is the only way to begin preventing further destruction to the

Stewart Elgie, a University of Ottawa law and economics professor and chair of the green economy think-tank Sustainable Prosperity suggests that British Columbia’s per-capita fuel usage had fallen more than 4 per cent compared with the rest of Canada and its economy (Ebner, McCarthy, 2011) Evidently it is reducing the amount of green house gasses emitted by fossil fuel use. However this is not the concern many had with the introduction of the tax, but the concerns were focused upon the externalities caused by this and the effects it would have on the economy. Three years since the carbon tax introduction and the Provincial level of GDP has remained approximately the same, (Greenery in Canada: We have a winner) With the provincial level of GDP remaining around the same, this suggests that at the very worst the carbon tax has had no negative effects to the provincial economy. Furthermore the tax also promised to remain carbon neutral and promised to cut corporate and private income tax. British Columbia has become the province with the lowest income tax regime and the lowest corporate tax regime (Greenery in Canada: We have a winner). Although the carbon tax is being praised by many, it still faces concerns as many still argue the ineffectiveness of the tax and what that means for the province.

For the last two decades, the increased use of fossil energy caused the environmental problems. The evidence of global warming, like drying rivers, extinction of species, melting of glaciers, became more often around the planet. The climate change became a threat to healthy environment and prosperity of humanity and wildlife, and the world community started searching for solution to combat climate change. In 2008 British Columbia introduced carbon tax on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to reduce global warming. Starting from $10 per tonne of CO2, the price was increasing annually till it reached $30 per tonne in 2012. During that period British Columbia was reducing harmful emissions and improving economy comparing to the rest of Canada. However, since the price rise on carbon stopped in 2012, no improving changes in cutting emissions, economy, and overall quality of life have been noticed. In this essay I will persuade that British Columbia should continue gradually increase price on carbon tax to the level where it will significantly cut the use of dirty energy, provide enough investments into the green projects, and support low-income families.

Canada has the potential to be a “sustainable energy superpower” due to the vast amount of resources it contains. It has a large landmass and diversified geography which can be used to produce renewable energy from such resources; watermill, wind, biomass, solar, geothermal, and ocean energy. Renewable energy is energy obtained from natural resources that are able to be naturally replenished within a human lifespan (Natural Resource Canada, 2014). Currently, fossil fuel burning is the major source of energy in Canada and although it can be re-used, the process is so long that it is considered to be non-renewable. Also, fossil fuel burning for coal, natural gas, and petroleum gas pollutes the environment with greenhouse gases on a large scale, causing global warming. Non-renewable energy is taken from sources that re available on Earth in limited quantity, likely vanishing within fifty to sixty years from today (Conserve Energy Future, 2014). Thus, it is important for Canada to invest their money on resorting to more environmentally friendly and renewable ways to make electricity. Being a developed country, Canada has the financial stability to purchase the technologies over time in order to produce renewable energy. In addition, many organizations and the government have taken a step to educate the society about issues regarding energy usage, and to create programs which conserve energy for the future. In the future generations, Canada will be able to generate sufficient

It is also important to recognize Canada and in particular Alberta’s dependence on the development of natural resources to be economically secure. In the past resource development has had less tangible consequences with smaller populations, less advanced extraction methods, and inability to access reserves. In a contemporary setting it appears that natural non-renewable resources are being rapidly depleted in a sequential manor by their most economically redeemable characteristics. Michele Heng, Keith Hipel, and Liping Fang also validate this argument in their paper that the rapid oil sand development does not consider future generations economic, social, and environmental well being. This displays many clear intersections present the issue of oil and gas development in Alberta. The ramifications however can be seen across provinces and globally. The pollution resulting from form the tar sands effects water sheds and ecosystems that are nation wide. A new discussion and analysis of not only the long-term adverse environmental implications, but also the political and socio-economic inequities is needed (Heng, M. Kipel, K. Fang, L. pg. 1137). This change in discourse and policy is discussed as well by Jeff Galius in An Act of Deception. Galius emphasizes the need for a scientific based creation of a strong environmental assessment

Canada is one of the biggest energy producer in the world. Currently Canada is ranked 5th in regards to its production of energy in the world. Canada’s energy policy, should revolve around the natural resources and their optimum use to produce cheap and clean energy, which should be environmental friendly. Our policy should be beneficial for all the Canadians living in different parts of the country and that the policy should not discriminate among the provinces. Canada is also the biggest consumer of the energy in the world, as it consume most of energy per capita because of the extreme weather conditions that it face. We need to keep ourselves warm and need to transport goods and people from one place to another. Canada 's energy policy should be sound and aggressive and be comprehensive. Generally world energy is produced using the fossil fuel, whereas in Canada we have adequate alternative energy resources such as wind power, tidal power, solar energy, hydro power and nuclear energy. Our energy policy should be developed to explore these resources.

Since 23% percent of our energy is by using fossil fuels, Canada can get 100% of its electricity from environmentally friendly and renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by just making a few changes. For one, if Canada put a price on carbon it would drastically decrease the amount of carbon that is burned and then emitted to the air. If we also eliminate subsidies on fossil fuels less companies will use them. Tar sand companies especially would respond well to this new rule as they would have to stop or slow down their operations even though they are planning to crease there productions to 3.8 barrels a day in 2022. If the companies decide to increase productions all the things we can do will be for nothing.

Canada is one of the biggest energy producers in the world. Currently Canada is ranked fifth in regards to the production of energy. Canada 's energy policy should revolve around the natural resources and their optimum use to create cheap and clean energy, which should be environmentally friendly. Our policy should be beneficial for all the Canadians living in different parts of the country and that the policy should not discriminate among the provinces. Canada is also the biggest consumer of the energy in the world, as it consumes most of energy per capita because of the extreme weather conditions that it faces. We need to keep ourselves warm through the winter and have to transport goods and people from one place to another. Canada 's

Furthermore, generating hydroelectricity does not produce any kinds of greenhouse gases or smog emissions. Finding the balance between an efficient energy source that does not produce any greenhouse gases are crucial, especially in this day and time, where climate change is prominently becoming a large issue not just in Canada but all over the world. Between 1990 and 2013 Canada’s increase in emissions were caused by fossil fuels. Fortunately, there was a slight reduction from 2005 to 2013 and that was from the public electricity sector, for example, by using hydroelectric stations. If canada increased the percentage in which the hydroelectric stations supplied energy to, Canada could potentially cut down on greenhouse gas emissions and smog.

Ontario has its own creative and effective strategies to combat climate change. One of Ontario’s goal is a low-carbon future. To accomplish this the province started making carbon reductions in 1990 and are on track to reduce carbon emissions by 15% in 2020, 37 per cent in 2030 and 80 per cent in 2050 (Climate Change Action Plan, 2017). Ontario’s target of reducing emissions by 6% was met on schedule in 2014 (Climate Change Action Plan, 2017). One of the reasons this has been made possible is because of Ontario’s investment in carbon reduction. For example, in 2015 Ontario committed $325-million payment to Ontario’s Green Investment Fund to support programs that help households and businesses implement

The neo-liberal idea that oil and gas are primary sources of revenues for the country are very out dated. This is something that needs to be addressed if we want to sustain our economy and our environment. Without a stable environment, how could we possibly have a good economy, don’t they go hand in hand? Since the industrial revolution, our economy has increased significantly, however, it has a tremendous impact on our environment. Today, we can easily see the destruction of our environment take place all over the world, thus moving towards sustainable and renewable energies isn’t as far-fetched as it once was. The political ideologies of revenues through natural resource is strong, but the people are not realizing that this is not the only way to generate revenues within a province. Some provinces have said no we do not want pipelines or no we do not want fracking, but this is at a cost of getting the blame of not following the “Canadian Dream”. By that I mean, following the greedy corporate world in destroying the planet at the cost of becoming a wealthy province to satisfy the Canadian government, and be less reliant on government subsidies. Starr fails to mention the initiatives that the Nova Scotia provincial government has been leaning toward sustainable energies, such

Because carbon footprints are such hot topics in the news these days, it's an ideal topic for this particular paper. As concerns about global warming and potential climate change have continued to evolve the term "carbon footprint" has become ingrained in many people's consciousness. Though the large Fortune 500 companies focus on reduction of their own carbon footprints, individuals can help in their own small way as well.

Much like the glass of a greenhouse, gases in our atmosphere sustain life on Earth by trapping the sun 's heat. The Earth’s atmosphere contains several different gases that act like a blanket, keeping the Earth warm. Water vapour and some trace gases like CO2, CH4 (methane), O3 (ozone), N2O (nitrous oxide), are “IR active”, i.e. they absorb heat energy, and stop the warmth from escaping into space. Without the entrapment of heat, the earth’s mean temperature would be -180 C and life, as we know it today, would not be possible. These gases are present in the atmosphere in tiny quantities compared to the amounts of oxygen and nitrogen. But even a small change in the concentration of these gases may create an effect that could change our