Toronto’s net-zero GHG plans outlined during ULI forum

Carbon  •  Sustainable Biz Canada

The City of Toronto has set “very ambitious” goals for decarbonization and getting to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions during the next 20 years, senior managers told attendees at an Urban Land Institute (ULI) Toronto district council webinar this week.

Lion Electric moves into Illinois production facility

Transportation  •  Canada Newswire  •  Sustainable Biz Canada

The Lion Electric Company, a Quebec-based leading manufacturer of all-electric medium and heavy-duty urban vehicles, has taken possession of its upcoming production facility in Joliet, Illinois. The first vehicles are to come off the production line in Q2 2022.

Blackstone, CDP invest in large renewables producer

Real Estate  •  La Presse

The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and New York’s Blackstone are partners in one of the largest American producers of renewable energy. Blackstone has invested $3 billion US in Invenergy where the Caisse de dépôt is the main shareholder.

Alberta earmarks $30 million for carbon capture projects

Real Estate  •  Globe and Mail

As Ottawa works on a carbon-capture tax credit slated for 2022, Alberta is ratcheting up funding for the technical and engineering know-how to make sure as many projects as possible are ready to go when the federal plan is released.

Canada’s challenge in remaining an oil power: IEA

Energy  •  Bloomberg

Canada, the holder of the world’s third-largest oil reserves,  seeks to remain “a major global oil and gas supplier” beyond 2050 even as countries, including Canada itself, push toward emission cuts, the International Energy Agency said in Canada 2022 Energy Policy Review.

Canada’s proposed climate disclosure rules have holes

Real Estate  •  Globe and Mail

OPINION: Canada’s securities commissions are developing a plan to make annual disclosure of such corporate data mandatory. Some experts in sustainable finance warn that the rules, as currently proposed, have big holes that would reduce effectiveness for investors.

Ramping up the green industry to meet net-zero goal

Real Estate  •  Corporate Knights

The direct contribution of energy-intensive heavy industries to Canada’s GDP is only 2 percent; however, due to high energy use and emission-intensive processes, their greenhouse gas emissions comprise 9 per cent of Canada’s GHG inventory, presenting a challenge for reaching net-zero by 2050.

Global carbon price may be ‘game changer’: BOE official

Carbon  •  Bloomberg  •  Sustainable Biz Canada  •  Sustainable Biz Canada

Catherine Mann, a member of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee, said adopting a global price on fossil fuel pollution could spur to investment and productivity that lift the world economy with a positive jolt to growth.

EV increasingly beneficial to the grid

Energy, Finance  •  Environmental Leader  •  Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC)

Electric vehicles were originally designed to draw power from the electric grid, but technology has advanced and EVs are more widely implemented, they are becoming more valuable to the grid and can even be used as a power source.

One-way streets are killers. Should we ban them?

Real Estate  •  Treehugger

City planner Mark Brown wrote a post “The Problems With One-Way Streets.” He cites a study done in Hamilton, Ontario, dominated by one-way streets that are scary speedways, that found the injury rate was 2.5 times higher on one-way streets.

Project to map energy ratings for Alberta homes

Real Estate  •  CBC

An Alberta environmental charity and a software company plan to rate the energy efficiency of every single-family home in Edmonton and Calgary and publish the ratings online this fall. The aim of the pilot is to combat climate change.

Wall system with solar panels, heat pump, ventilation

Real Estate  •  TreeHugger

We like to repeat architect Carl Elefante’s adage that ‘the greenest building is the one already standing‘ but there are untold millions of square feet of office buildings around the world with leaky curtain walls and inefficient heating systems.

Scientist tracking results of warming on boreal forest

Energy  •  Yale 360  •  Reuters

From Minnesota to the Northwest Territories, researchers are studying dramatic changes in the vast northern forests: thawing permafrost, drowned trees, methane releases, increased wildfires and the slow transformation of these forests from carbon sinks to carbon emitters.

Natural capital may impact businesses in 2022

ESG  •  Environmental Leader

The credit implications of net-zero initiatives in 2022 could lead to financial strain on carbon-intensive businesses or those who don’t have strong sustainability goals by potentially limiting funding available from capital markets, according to the 2022 ESG Outlook by Moody’s.

UBC to pursue ambitious climate action plan

Real Estate  •  Business In Vancouver

At the University of British Columbia, we have an obligation to use our expertise to find solutions and train the next generation of scientists and leaders, and as a community of 86,000 students, faculty and staff to reduce our carbon footprint.

30 sustainability podcasts worth a listen

Social  •  TreeHugger

With the blossoming of sustainability-oriented podcasts, a little guidance might help you find ones worth listening to—which ones provide credible, expert analysis, which ones offer unique perspectives and which ones are just as entertaining as they are informative.

Beekeeping is going corporate on CRE rooftops

Real Estate  •  Bloomberg Green

Honeybees, under threat in rural and agricultural areas, are finding an unlikely refuge: the big city. The fuzzy pollinators, apis mellifera, have found new homes at places like the Beaugrenelle Commercial Center, one of Paris’s biggest indoor shopping complexes.

Timberland footwear gives worn items new life

Waste  •  Sustainable Brands

Climate failure, social divides top WEF’s global risks

Social  •  Sustainable Brands

The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2022 finds only 1 in 6 are optimistic and only 1 in 10 believe in our ability to implement a stable, sustainable global recovery. Climate risks are back at the top of our most pressing global concerns.

Europe energy crisis worsens, prices continue climbing

Energy  •  Bloomberg

Europe’s energy prices are extremely volatile. The region’s gas storage is draining faster than expected, increasing the focus on imports from Russia and raising concern that supplies will fall short in the event of a severe cold snap.