Sustainable Energy Transitions in Canada

Book excerpt: Canadian energy systems need to evolve. Beyond providing essential energy services, they must respond to climate change, enhance social justice, and remain sensitive to local cultures and traditions. Can they do this and still make financial sense? Sustainable Energy Transitions in Canada gathers experts from across the country to share perspectives on leading theories and practices. Contributors first deal with the conceptual aspects of energy transitions, investigating such topics as energy justice and poverty, the decolonization of energy, community energy planning, the role of energy systems modelling, and links between energy and climate change policy. Building on this foundation, they offer case studies that cover the North, the Atlantic region, Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, along with crucial but difficult to decarbonize sectors like transportation and space heating. Running throughout this comprehensive discussion is a common thread: the importance of paying attention to wider sustainability goals and distributional justice in the process of decarbonizing the Canadian economy.