By Mark Winfield The large-scale electrification of transportation and other energy-based services are widely seen as an important element of efforts to reduce significantly greenhouse gas emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels. Major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions will …
Expert Panel Outlines Future Direction of Federal Environmental Reviews, but Significant Gaps Remain
Earlier this week (April 5, 2017) the federal government’s Expert Panel on the Review of the Federal Environmental Assessment Process tabled its final report. The panel was set up as one of four elements of the Federal Environmental and Regulatory …
“Premier Wynne pulls a power move” – Letter to the Editor – Globe and Mail
March 3, 2017 The Editors The Globe and Mail 444 Front st. Toronto, Dear Sir Madam, While I am no fan of the Wynne government’s scheme for a short term reduction in Ontario electricity rates, it is both wrong and …
Trump, Trudeau and Climate Change – Published in the Hamilton Spectator, April 12, 2017
March 28, 2017 The new administration of US President Donald Trump is now engaged in a very public rejection of President Obama’s ambitious plans to address climate change. President Trump is proposing to repeal the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan …
Ontario Electricity: “technology neutral” bidding not a bad idea, as long as it applies to nuclear as well as everything else.
February 25, 2017 It was reported in today’s Globe and Mail that on Friday (February 24th) Ontario energy minister Glenn Thibeault proposed the idea of a “technology neutral” bidding process for new electricity supply in Ontario. The concept of a …
Submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development regarding The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999
Presented November 22, 2016 Audio of Presentation Introduction My name is Mark Winfield, and I am a Professor of Environmental Studies at York University in Toronto. I am also Co-Chair of the University’s Sustainable Energy Initiative (http://sei.info.yorku.ca/), and Coordinator of …
Electricity Costs in Ontario
The following is a longer version of a short article posted on Global News today. Recent public debates about electricity prices in Ontario have focused strongly on the costs renewable energy under the Green Energy Act. This focus is misguided, …
Letter to Editor – Globe and Mail – What Trump Means for Trudeau – November 10, 2016
November 10, 2016 The Editors The Globe and Mail 444 Front St. Toronto, Ontario Dear Sir/Madam, In its barely contained glee at the implications of the Trump presidency for fossil fuel development (“What Trump means for Trudeau” – November 10th), …
Assessing Trudeau’s Environmental Record: The First Year
The October 19, 2015 federal election was widely interpreted as a watershed moment in Canadian environmental policy. Justin Trudeau’s Liberals presented a platform with extensive environmental commitments, and the election outcome was seen in many parts of the country as …
The paths not taken: Ontario’s decision to abandon renewable energy.
October 2, 2016 The Wynne government’s decision to cancel 1000 megawatts of renewable energy contracts, most of them just announced earlier this year, is being widely interpreted as the final step in the abandonment of the efforts to transform Ontario’s …