Investment

Report warns Alberta risks losing investment if it fails to reach emissions reduction goals

Published

2 years ago

February 20, 2023

New report from Calgary-based Pembina Institute recommends Alberta modernize, decarbonize and upgrade its electricity grid, and help its residents benefit from clean, reliable and affordable transportation.Sarah B Groot/The Globe and Mail

Alberta needs a robust, credible plan on climate and energy if it is to remain competitive and attract investment in a world where more companies are setting net-zero targets and competing jurisdictions are increasingly committing to emissions-reduction goals, according to a new report from the Pembina Institute.

The report is titled Alberta’s Roadmap to the New Energy Economy. It was prepared by the Calgary-based think tank to try kick-starting public conversations about climate and energy leadership in the run-up to the May provincial election. But it doesn’t stop with energy, making 20 recommendations across oil and gas, electricity, transport, buildings and conservation.

On the energy side, those include further strengthening Alberta’s industrial carbon-pricing system, implementing a strengthened provincial cap on oil and gas emissions, advancing the hydrogen strategy, addressing methane emissions and taking action on oil and gas liabilities.

The report also recommends that the province modernize, decarbonize and upgrade its electricity grid, and help all Albertans benefit from clean, reliable and affordable transportation.

The world has changed a lot since the 2019 Alberta election, Simon Dyer, deputy executive director of the Pembina Institute, said in an interview.

Between the province’s surplus, its track record on energy-sector innovation and its swath of leading experts on low-carbon energy production, “Alberta has the perfect conditions to meet emissions reduction commitments and create a clean-energy plan,” he said.

According to November, 2022, polling data by Janet Brown Opinion Research cited in the report, a majority of Albertans think more should be done to address climate change, and that the transition away from oil and gas will be beneficial in the long run.

“Albertans are ready to lead on this. Albertans are not scared of diversification, they recognize that the world is changing. And oil and gas is important, but I think Albertans are in many ways ahead of our leaders in terms of actually acknowledging that clearly a change is taking place,” Mr. Dyer said.

But without a sustained and co-ordinated decarbonization strategy, Alberta will remain an outlier and risk being an investment has-been.

“Investors are looking for consistent, stable policies, and a recognition that Alberta understands the importance of action on climate change and takes it seriously,” Mr. Dyer said.

“Until Alberta joins the mainstream of all these competing jurisdictions that are committed to reducing emissions … I think we are going to be disadvantaged. And it has the potential to undermine prospects for private-sector investments.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said last week in a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that the province would soon release an emissions reduction and energy development plan, as the province grapples with how to preserve its oil and gas industry in the face of increasing pressure to reduce the sector’s environmental footprint.

Her government hasn’t yet provided further details of what might be in that plan, or when it will be released, but it will likely take some guidance from a new Premier’s Advisory Council on Alberta’s Energy Future. The five-member panel, announced last week, is charged with developing a long-term vision and recommended steps for the province’s energy future. Its report is due June 30.

The International Energy Agency estimates that, worldwide, 14 million new energy jobs and 16 million new jobs in energy efficiency will be created between now and 2050.

To take advantage of these opportunities, the Pembina report says Alberta must “be willing to confront the realities of the global shift toward low-carbon energy sources, and take steps to adapt and futureproof its economy and work force.”

“Now more than ever before, companies are looking for opportunities to invest in climate solutions, and for jurisdictions where they can operate while meeting their own climate goals. Choosing instead to remain out of step with the global trend toward low-emission economies would leave Alberta at a significant disadvantage in the years ahead.”

Alberta is doing some things very well already, Mr. Dyer said, but it’s not seizing all the opportunities available to it, because it doesn’t have a coherent climate and energy strategy. “There’s opportunity for significant improvements.”

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Investment

Tesla shares soar more than 14% as Trump win is seen boosting Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company

Published

3 days ago

November 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Tesla soared Wednesday as investors bet that the electric vehicle maker and its CEO Elon Musk will benefit from Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Tesla stands to make significant gains under a Trump administration with the threat of diminished subsidies for alternative energy and electric vehicles doing the most harm to smaller competitors. Trump’s plans for extensive tariffs on Chinese imports make it less likely that Chinese EVs will be sold in bulk in the U.S. anytime soon.

“Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, in a note to investors. “This dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players.”

Tesla shares jumped 14.8% Wednesday while shares of rival electric vehicle makers tumbled. Nio, based in Shanghai, fell 5.3%. Shares of electric truck maker Rivian dropped 8.3% and Lucid Group fell 5.3%.

Tesla dominates sales of electric vehicles in the U.S, with 48.9% in market share through the middle of 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Subsidies for clean energy are part of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. It included tax credits for manufacturing, along with tax credits for consumers of electric vehicles.

Musk was one of Trump’s biggest donors, spending at least $119 million mobilizing Trump’s supporters to back the Republican nominee. He also pledged to give away $1 million a day to voters signing a petition for his political action committee.

In some ways, it has been a rocky year for Tesla, with sales and profit declining through the first half of the year. Profit did rise 17.3% in the third quarter.

The U.S. opened an investigation into the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system after reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. The investigation covers roughly 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.

And investors sent company shares tumbling last month after Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, seeing not much progress at Tesla on autonomous vehicles while other companies have been making notable progress.

Tesla began selling the software, which is called “Full Self-Driving,” nine years ago. But there are doubts about its reliability.

The stock is now showing a 16.1% gain for the year after rising the past two days.

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Investment

S&P/TSX composite up more than 100 points, U.S. stock markets mixed

Published

3 weeks ago

October 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.

The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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Economy

S&P/TSX up more than 200 points, U.S. markets also higher

Published

4 weeks ago

October 11, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.

The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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