If you were worried that the Carney Government just doesn’t get it when it comes to climate change, be even more worried now.
Last week our Prime Minister announced that the Government of Canada will invest $2 billion in Doug Ford’s plan to build four new U.S. nuclear reactors in the GTA, which will require us to import enriched uranium from the U.S. to fuel them.
Even if (and it is a huge “if”) these nuclear reactors can be finished in ten years, that will be ten years too late. We need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions now. But under the Ford/Carney plan we will continue to ramp up the output of our polluting gas plants while we wait for the new U.S. nuclear reactors to be built. We are going in the wrong direction. And to add insult to injury, more than 70% of the gas we are burning to keep our lights on is imported from the U.S.
Fortunately, we have quicker, cleaner & lower cost options to keep our lights on that won’t jeopardize our national security.
According to Lazard, solar and wind projects can be built in 6 to 24 months.
According to Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator, wind & solar combined with battery storage can meet at least 99.5% of our electricity needs at a lower cost than new U.S. nuclear reactors.
High-cost nuclear is on decline world-wide. Its share of global electricity generation has fallen from 17.5% in 1996 to 9% in 2024. On the other hand, last year, 92.5% of the world’s new electricity generating capacity was renewable, mostly solar and wind. It’s time for Ontario and Canada to join the rest of the world and invest in the options which will lower our electricity bills, build Canada strong and protect our climate.
To read a very insightful U.S. perspective on Carney’s decision, click here.
Please ask Prime Minister Carney to invest in Made-in-Canada renewable electricity and an east-west electricity grid. Let’s build Canada strong and protect our climate!