Correction: An earlier version of this piece contained incorrect figures for U.S. renewable power generation. The error has been corrected.
In the Unites States’ march to transition to clean energy and reduce greenhouse gasses, resilience may be the most important word to summarize 2021. Nine months after the pandemic first upended lives and the economy, the market fundamentals for clean energy looked unstoppable. But it was not clear what further recovery would look like, nor how continued shocks would affect commitments to clean energy. Now, as we learn to live through new COVID-19 variants and economic and geopolitical challenges, the data are clear: We can grow the economy, create jobs, enhance national security and tackle climate change at the same time.
According to new data and analysis from the 2022 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook from the Business Council on Sustainable Energy, clean energy production is up. Way up. Records were broken for renewable power, battery storage and sustainable transportation. And while emissions have slightly risen, the U.S. economy is on a fundamentally cleaner and more efficient trajectory than ever before.
In 2021, solar and wind power were built at a record pace due to surging demand by companies, households and sound economics. While the cost of building solar, wind and natural gas was higher in 2021 than 2020 — due to rising material, freight and fuel prices — new projects skyrocketed. Solar construction surged by nearly 60 percent with 24.2 gigawatts commissioned in 2021 compared to 18.7 gigawatts in 2020. Wind added 13 gigawatts of new power. The two technologies accounted for a record 13 percent of total U.S. power generated.
More than 4.1 gigawatts of predominantly battery energy storage was added to the U.S. grid too, which is more in one year than in all preceding years combined. The underlying driver is the growing need for batteries and other forms of energy storage to match the timing of renewable power supply with household demand. But the rapid pace is possible due to regulatory changes that removed barriers as well as state-level targets to encourage uptake.
Demand for U.S.-produced natural gas grew 9.4 percent — driven largely by exports. Liquid natural gas (LNG) exports jumped an astonishing 64 percent last year, providing much-needed energy security to our allies in Europe and helping Asia meet growing demand while lowering global carbon emissions at the same time.
All this new clean energy means that as the U.S. economy grew, we also improved our competitiveness. Over the course of 2021, the U.S. economy grew by 5.6 percent and energy use rebounded by only 4.4 percent. The result was that U.S. “energy productivity” — the ratio of GDP growth vs. energy growth — improved once again.
Similarly, economy-wide emissions hit 6,263 metric tons of CO2 in 2021, up 5.8 percent from 2020 but still 4.4 percent below 2019 levels. Contributing to this rise was increased energy production from coal-fired power plants due to higher natural gas prices and lower output from large hydro projects. Transportation-related emissions also rose as more Americans hit the roads compared to 2020 and air travel picked up. However, transport emissions in 2021 did not return to 2019 levels. Over the past decade, economy-wide emissions are down 15 percent from 2005 levels.
The long-term trend of the U.S. using energy more efficiently and with lower greenhouse gas emissions is beneficial not just for the planet but for U.S. exporters — particularly as global customers become more discerning about the carbon footprint associated with the products they purchase.
The writing is on the wall that more decarbonization is on the way. Actually, it’s written on the streets — Wall Street and Main Street.
Record volumes of private capital were deployed into virtually every asset class in 2021, $755 billion worldwide and $105 billion in the U.S. alone. Given that capital invested today will yield results tomorrow, the private funds raised in 2021 foreshadow considerable new build and progress on key technologies for years to come.
The federal government is also taking notice. The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that was signed into law in November allocates an unprecedented $80 billion for new energy technologies. The new law funds important direct air capture, carbon capture, hydrogen and advanced nuclear projects to demonstrate these technologies on the path to commercialization. It will also help plug abandoned oil and gas wells leaking potent greenhouse gases. It also includes much-needed funding to help decarbonize heavy-industry by focusing on research, development and deployment of new technologies, advanced energy manufacturing and recycling, and industrial emissions demonstration projects.
Like any economic sector, global events, supply chain bottlenecks and inflation pose real threats to clean energy. But the tide is flowing toward capital investments large and small that will deliver cleaner air, cleaner water, as well as tangible reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. It will also strengthen energy security for the U.S. and our allies. And like the Americans they employ, businesses in clean energy are showing resilience and finding new ways to deliver.
Charles Hernick is a vice president at Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES) Forum,a nonpartisan, 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to educating the public and influencing the national conversation about clean energy.
LisaJacobson is the president of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy, a coalition of companies and trade associations from the energy efficiency, natural gas and renewable energy sectors.
OTTAWA – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.
Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.
Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.
Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.
Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.
Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.
Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.
According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.
That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.
People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.
That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.
Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.
That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.
The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.
CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.
This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.
While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.
Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.
The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.
Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.
More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.
Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.
“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.
“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”
American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.
It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.
“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.
“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”
A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.
Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.
Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”
“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.
“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
