What needs to happen for Canada to actually reach net-zero emissions by 2050?
By Jeremiah Rodriguez, CTVNews.ca Writer
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SASKATOON, Saskatchewan (CTV Network) — Canada will need to make “transformative changes” in order to reach its stated goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, a climate policy researcher says.
The country needs to make better use of its energy and industries need to take further steps to develop better carbon-capture technology, Caroline Lee, a senior research associate at the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices, told CTVNews.ca in an interview.
“Meeting net-zero requires transformative changes, in particular in how we use and produce energy in Canada,” she said.
Achieving net-zero emissions is when all the greenhouse gas emissions people produce are offset by the emissions that are removed from the atmosphere. For countries including Canada, getting to net zero means either producing no greenhouse gas emissions or offsetting emissions already in the atmosphere, through methods such as planting new trees and adopting carbon-capture technology.
The independent government-funded think tank she’s a part of released reports on potential methods Canada could choose to reach the goal.
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She said this includes Canada becoming “much more energy-efficient than it is today,” which means using less energy to heat our homes, drive our cars, and fuel our industrial, food and agricultural processes. Lee also said that for Canada to reach net-zero, society needs to rely more on wind and solar power, and further develop newer technologies such as hydrogen fuel or carbon-capture technology.
Watch the video attached to this article to see more of what else Lee says has to happen for Canada to make good on its promise.
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