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B.C. tops, N.L. and Sask. trail in Energy Efficiency ranking

4 years ago

Covid-19 has simply devastated the Canadian economy, but there could be a path to rebuilding the Canadian economy through green-energy investments and retrofitting of existing infrastructure, according to Efficiency Canada.

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Rimkus Consulting Group, Inc., a worldwide provider of forensic engineering and Architectural and Engineering consulting services, announced the strategic acquisition of Canada-based IRC Building Sciences Group and Quebec-based Le Groupe IRC.

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Crown Holdings is now operating all 14 of its beverage can plants in the U.S. and Canada on renewable energy. It is the first metal packaging manufacturer to achieve this milestone, due to a 15-year wind power purchase with Longroad Energy.

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A Toronto plan could be adding more green space to the urban core with a 90-acre park along University Avenue, called University Park, which would have pedestrian walkways, bike paths, and installations in line with its 2018 TOcore downtown planning initiative.

Energy Profiles

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Hydrogen Europe unveiled plans to deploy 100,000 hydrogen-powered trucks, and 1,000 hydrogen stations providing an up-and-coming zero-emission alternative to gas-powered versions of these vehicles by 2030 during day one of the first-ever European Hydrogen Week

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General Motors says it will offer 30 all-electric models by 2025, at which point 40% of its U.S. offerings will be battery electric vehicles, and it will increase its EV spending to $27 billion by 2025, up from $20 billion planned prior to the pandemic.

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The Globe and Mail Future of Cities has shown how the pandemic might reshape Canada’s cities for the better: fewer cars, more green space, a focus on community life, short travel times, and an end to the single-family homes obsession.

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Over the last two years the Foothills School Division says the cost of its insurance has skyrocketed, with premiums more than quadrupling, due risk of natural disasters. Drew Chipman, Foothill’s superintendent of corporate services said in 2018 its insurance cost was $560,000.

Yardi Marketplace

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To “create a more resilient and sustainable approach to floods in Canada,” the federal government has formed a new task force aimed at addressing the nation’s flood risks. Flooding continues to be Canada’s most frequent and costly natural disaster.

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As seas rise and storms intensify, policymakers and low-lying cities are increasingly wrestling with the need to relocate entire communities to higher, safer ground. Scientists estimate up to 340 million people in coastal areas could be displaced by 2050 and 630 million by 2100.

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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is weighing a $1.75 billion sea wall proposal to ward off storm flooding in Charleston, South Carolina. Residents want a solution as sea levels rise, but question the project’s environmental and social impacts.

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Building resilient cities and addressing climate change are key, U.S. mayors said at the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships annual conference where mayors of Houston and Miami discussed how best to build cities that can handle future problems.

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The City of Edmonton will no longer empty blue boxes. Residents will now need to buy special, single-use plastic bags in order to set out their paper, plastic and glass items for pickup following a bylaw change first made in 1999.

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The Wood Pellet Association of Canada interviewed Gary Bull, head of UBC’s Department of Forest Resources Management about a growing recognition of the pellet industry’s potential as a climate change solution, firstly by avoiding low-grade fibre’s loss in forest fires.

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Last week, the federal government tabled the Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act. The act enshrines into law the government’s goal of achieving a net-zero economy by 2050. While grand in vision, Bill C-12 is not a roadmap to achieving a net-zero economy.

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The Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) launched its methodology enabling banks to measure and disclose the emissions associated with their financed activities. More than 83 banks globally have joined PCAF, creating a global standard for measuring and disclosing financed emissions.

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Recent research shows the global plant-based meat market growing at a compound annual growth rate of 15.8 percent, projected to reach $35.4 billion by 2027. Barclays estimated in 2019 that the wider plant-based market could grow by over 1,000 percent over the next ten years.

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The construction sector, the real estate industry and city planners must give high priority to drastically reducing their climate impacts, suggests a new paper released at the culmination of the Beyond 2020 World Conference held online Nov. 2 to 4.

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Green recovery funds offer a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to tackle climate change, according to former UN climate chief Christian Figueres adding that countries around the world face a moral imperative not to squander COVID-19 pandemic economic recovery investments.

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Tritax Big Box REIT has announced a green bond issue, making it the first U.K. REIT to issue a sterling-denominated green bond. It follows a series of fixed income investor meetings which generated substantial institutional demand.

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