Mowat energy researcher Tatiana Khanberg’s op-ed featured in iPolitics.
Tatiana Khanberg is an Energy Policy Associate at the Mowat Centre at the School of Public Policy & Governance, University of Toronto. She holds a Masters degree in International Relations and Political Science from the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto where she researched the geopolitics of energy and energy governance. She was previously a Researcher at the G8 Research Group and has served as an Associate Editor of the Journal of International Law and International Relations.
The dispute between Alberta and British Columbia over the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline highlights again that Canadian provinces do not have identical perspectives on energy. Ministers of Energy will no doubt find it challenging to agree to a common national energy strategy when they meet in Prince Edward Island this week.
But there is hope. Although provinces are differently endowed with energy resources, they all share an interest in developing and deploying the technology necessary to develop and use energy across the entire system – from extraction of resources all the way to end-use by consumers.
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A cornerstone of a national energy policy should be that Canada should be a global leader in creating the breakthrough technologies that will help reduce energy-related environmental damage and allow a seamless transition to new sources of low-carbon energy. A principle of a national strategy should be that Canada can do more than just offer the world access to our natural resources.
Canada’s national energy discussion has been too focused on resource development and export. Our discussion must be broader if it is to appeal to the interests of more provinces and more Canadians. This renewed conversation should focus on issues related to the entire energy system, including energy consumption and energy technology, not just energy supply and natural resources.
Sustained investment in energy technology could be the glue which binds all provinces together in a common energy strategy. Unlike physical resources, expertise in energy technologies is more broadly distributed across the country. Provinces such as Ontario and Quebec could benefit from a national commitment to energy technology investments due to the abundance of human, financial, and knowledge capital in these provinces. These investments should translate into attractive opportunities to export energy research and development (ER&D) services, expertise and technologies.
Energy technology should be the national energy priority, but right now it is not. The unfortunate reality is that Canada’s current approach to energy technology policy is piecemeal and fragmented. With some exceptions, governments rely on a mix of short-term and overlapping boutique ER&D programs. They have a mediocre track record when assessed on the basis of measurable outputs, including Canada’s poor performance in commercializing new energy technologies.
Becoming a real energy superpower requires Canada to become a global leader in energy technologies. Only then can more Canadians see the benefits from Canada’s resource wealth.
Given Canada’s endowment in energy resources, technological sophistication and human capital, there are considerable benefits in Canada’s quest for energy superpower status. Canada’s natural resources represent an enormous opportunity to diversify our exports and become more active in the emerging global energy technology market, estimated to be in the trillions of dollars. But for all this to materialize a comprehensive pan-Canadian energy policy that appeals to the interests and resource endowments of all regions is necessary.
The current ER&D suite of policies and programs, coupled with a piecemeal approach to energy policy generally, make for a shaky foundation for an emerging energy superpower.
There are several concrete steps that the federal government should undertake if Canada is to fulfill its energy superpower aspirations and respond to the long-term energy, economic and environmental interests of more Canadians. The creation of a Pan-Canadian Energy Policy at the federal level, with energy technology as its centerpiece, should be the first step. Federal energy-related programs would thereafter be supervised by a single Federal Department of Energy, instead of being split amongst numerous related and unrelated agencies. Ad-hoc and expiring federal programs would each be re-routed and consolidated within the new department.
Canadian economic successes on the world stage will be greatly enhanced by a national energy policy, and a national approach to energy technology. The ministers meeting in PEI this week provides provinces with an unprecedented opportunity to shape Canada’s role as an energy superpower. A more targeted focus on energy technology – from smart grid management to energy storage to unconventional oil extraction – could be an important foundation of future prosperity. It could also give energy ministers something they can all agree on.
The Mowat Centre released a study earlier today (September 6) entitled “Smarter and Stronger: Taking Charge of Canada’s Energy Technology Future”. To read the paper, click here.
How to take charge of Canada’s energy technology future iPolitics Insight
By Tatiana Khanberg | Sep 6, 2012 4:27 pm | 0 Comments
Tatiana Khanberg is an Energy Policy Associate at the Mowat Centre at the School of Public Policy & Governance, University of Toronto. She holds a Masters degree in International Relations and Political Science from the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto where she researched the geopolitics of energy and energy governance. She was previously a Researcher at the G8 Research Group and has served as an Associate Editor of the Journal of International Law and International Relations.
The dispute between Alberta and British Columbia over the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline highlights again that Canadian provinces do not have identical perspectives on energy. Ministers of Energy will no doubt find it challenging to agree to a common national energy strategy when they meet in Prince Edward Island this week.
But there is hope. Although provinces are differently endowed with energy resources, they all share an interest in developing and deploying the technology necessary to develop and use energy across the entire system – from extraction of resources all the way to end-use by consumers.
A cornerstone of a national energy policy should be that Canada should be a global leader in creating the breakthrough technologies that will help reduce energy-related environmental damage and allow a seamless transition to new sources of low-carbon energy. A principle of a national strategy should be that Canada can do more than just offer the world access to our natural resources.
Canada’s national energy discussion has been too focused on resource development and export. Our discussion must be broader if it is to appeal to the interests of more provinces and more Canadians. This renewed conversation should focus on issues related to the entire energy system, including energy consumption and energy technology, not just energy supply and natural resources.
Sustained investment in energy technology could be the glue which binds all provinces together in a common energy strategy. Unlike physical resources, expertise in energy technologies is more broadly distributed across the country. Provinces such as Ontario and Quebec could benefit from a national commitment to energy technology investments due to the abundance of human, financial, and knowledge capital in these provinces. These investments should translate into attractive opportunities to export energy research and development (ER&D) services, expertise and technologies.
Energy technology should be the national energy priority, but right now it is not. The unfortunate reality is that Canada’s current approach to energy technology policy is piecemeal and fragmented. With some exceptions, governments rely on a mix of short-term and overlapping boutique ER&D programs. They have a mediocre track record when assessed on the basis of measurable outputs, including Canada’s poor performance in commercializing new energy technologies.
Becoming a real energy superpower requires Canada to become a global leader in energy technologies. Only then can more Canadians see the benefits from Canada’s resource wealth.
Given Canada’s endowment in energy resources, technological sophistication and human capital, there are considerable benefits in Canada’s quest for energy superpower status. Canada’s natural resources represent an enormous opportunity to diversify our exports and become more active in the emerging global energy technology market, estimated to be in the trillions of dollars. But for all this to materialize a comprehensive pan-Canadian energy policy that appeals to the interests and resource endowments of all regions is necessary.
The current ER&D suite of policies and programs, coupled with a piecemeal approach to energy policy generally, make for a shaky foundation for an emerging energy superpower.
There are several concrete steps that the federal government should undertake if Canada is to fulfill its energy superpower aspirations and respond to the long-term energy, economic and environmental interests of more Canadians. The creation of a Pan-Canadian Energy Policy at the federal level, with energy technology as its centerpiece, should be the first step. Federal energy-related programs would thereafter be supervised by a single Federal Department of Energy, instead of being split amongst numerous related and unrelated agencies. Ad-hoc and expiring federal programs would each be re-routed and consolidated within the new department.
Canadian economic successes on the world stage will be greatly enhanced by a national energy policy, and a national approach to energy technology. The ministers meeting in PEI this week provides provinces with an unprecedented opportunity to shape Canada’s role as an energy superpower. A more targeted focus on energy technology – from smart grid management to energy storage to unconventional oil extraction – could be an important foundation of future prosperity. It could also give energy ministers something they can all agree on.
The Mowat Centre released a study earlier today (September 6) entitled “Smarter and Stronger: Taking Charge of Canada’s Energy Technology Future”. To read the paper, click here.
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