Federal government releases its hydrogen strategy

Energy  •  Financial Post  •  Clean Power Capital – News release  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

The federal government has unveiled its Hydrogen Strategy for Canada, a 104-page document laying out the opportunities and benefits of building a hydrogen energy industry. Hydrogen is the first element on the periodic table and the most abundant on earth.

Evolugen, Gazifère join forces to develop green hydrogen

Real Estate  •  Canada Newswire

Evolugen, the Canadian operating business of Brookfield Renewable, and Gazifère Inc., an Enbridge company, are collaborating to advance the development and use of green hydrogen production and low-carbon energy ecosystem in the Outaouais region.

HTEC secures investment by Chart Industries, signs MOU

Energy  •  HTEC News Release

North Vancouver-based Hydrogen Technology & Energy Corporation announced a $20 million financing with Chart Industries, a leading global manufacturer of liquefaction and cryogenic equipment for the industrial gas markets, and a binding commercial memorandum of understanding regarding how they will collaborate.

Amazon, Shell, Breakthrough JV backs ZeroAvia

Energy  •  H2 View

ZeroAvia’s ambition to decarbonise the aviation sector with hydrogen-fuelled flights Wednesday picked up a significant tailwind with $21.4 million in new funding from the likes of Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Amazon and Shell.

Canada behind on mandatory climate disclosures

Real Estate  •  The Logic (Subs Req’d)

After urging organizations to voluntarily disclose how floods or fires could hurt their bottom lines, Mark Carney as UN special envoy on climate action and finance says regulators must force companies, banks, and investors to disclose the climate change-related risks.

Lloyd’s market to quit fossil fuel insurance by 2030

Real Estate  •  The Guardian  •  Business Green

Lloyd’s, the world’s biggest insurance market, has bowed to pressure from environmental campaigners and set a market-wide policy to stop new insurance cover for coal, oil sands and Arctic energy projects by January 2022, and to pull out of the business altogether by 2030.

Sponsored by Framery Lifecycle costs: Conference rooms vs. Framery pods

Are you thinking about making a change to your company’s office space? Eyes over here please! Office tenants and managers often inquire which kind of rooms, pods or constructed conference areas, are more cost-efficient.

VIDEO: Nexii sustainably builds Starbucks store in B.C.

Real Estate  •  Nexii video  •  Sustainable Biz Canada

Canadian green construction technology company, Nexii Building Solutions Inc. has constructed a first-of-its-kind sustainably built Starbucks drive-thru store in Canada. Located in Abbotsford, B.C., the sustainably constructed Starbucks café has been built using Nexii’s revolutionary green construction technology.

High-profile architects withdraw from Architects Declare

Real Estate  •  Construction Canada

Foster + Partners and Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) have left Architects Declare, a network of architecture practices seeking to raise awareness about climate change and loss of biodiversity. Architects Declare told Dezeen high-profile architects are “clearly contravening” climate pledges.

Builders warn climate plan could hike home costs

Real Estate  •  Toronto Star

The Liberal government’s new $15-billion climate action plan includes welcome incentives for green renovations, the Canadian Home Builders’ Association said Monday. However, the CHBA also warned that regulators must be careful not to raise housing costs too steeply.

Smart meters installed in half of Britain’s homes

Energy  •  Business Green

Smart meters are set to reach over half of Britain’s homes and businesses next year as the national rollout once again gathers pace following major disruption to installation rates caused by the coronavirus crisis in 2020, according to Smart Energy GB.

Three-quarters of U.K. firms plot net-zero goals in 2021

Energy  •  Business Green

A major survey of U.K. firms has found almost three-quarters of businesses plan to introduce net-zero emissions goals covering their own operations and supply chains over the next year, as climate-aligned business strategies head into the mainstream.

Green bonds are going from ‘niche’ to ‘mainstream’

Real Estate  •  National Observer

As the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan decides where to invest its billions, every move is green-tested by future investors such as Aliya Hirji, who at 16 is younger than most organizers in the climate change advocacy group Fridays for Future Toronto.

Federal government to plant two billion trees

Energy  •  Canadian Biomass Magazine  •  Globe Newswire

The federal government on Dec. 14 launched its plan to plant two billion trees over 10 years, a $3.16-billion investment. The plan will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 12 megatons by 2050 and create up to 4,300 jobs.

B.C. sets new 2025 emissions target

Energy  •  CBC  •  Globe and Mail

The British Columbia government is setting a new target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 after determining it is further from reaching its goals than previously forecast. The new emissions target requires greenhouse gases in B.C. to fall 16 per cent below 2007 levels within the next five years.

Sault Ste. Marie approves climate change plan

Energy  •  CBC

Sault Ste. Marie has approved a plan to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050. It includes reducing emissions from city operations by 10 per cent by 2030 as well as five per cent from the rest of the community.

Fengate announces commercialization of U.S. wind project

Real Estate  •  PR Newswire

Fengate Asset Management announced the commercial operation, tax equity funding and term conversion of the 72.6-megawatt Weaver wind project in Hancock County, Maine. Weaver is a new and significant source of clean energy for Maine.

Wildfires a major source of cancer-causing air toxins

Real Estate  •  Globe and Mail

Wildfires have taken over from industry as a major source of a group of cancer-causing chemical toxins in the air, Environment Canada says. A national assessment of polycyclic aromatic compounds found that air has improved around aluminum and steel plants.

Natural disasters, disasters costs rise 25% in 2020

Real Estate  •  La Presse

Economic losses from natural disasters and man-made disasters jumped 25 five per cent in 2020, to $187 billion according to an initial estimate by Swiss reinsurer Swiss Re. The share of costs borne by insurers rose to $83 billion, up 32% from the previous year.

$7T asset manager BlackRock stresses climate change

Real Estate  •  CNBC

Investors are increasingly interested in companies that are environmentally and socially conscious, and the world’s largest asset manager is no exception. BlackRock chairman and CEO Larry Fink said “climate change has become a defining factor in companies’ long-term prospects … “