Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson responds to a question in the House of Commons during question period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023.Wilkinson says Canada needs to "get with the program" and move faster to become a renewable energy powerhouse following a new international energy outlook forecasting demand for all fossil fuels will peak in less than seven years. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA – Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says Canada needs to “get with the program” and move faster to become a renewable energy powerhouse, as a new international energy outlook forecasts demand for all fossil fuels will peak in seven years.
The International Energy Agency annual outlook published Tuesday says that even if no new climate-related policies are implemented, the ones that exist are still enough to bring demand for oil, gas and coal to a peak by 2030.
It says that renewables will account for nearly half the world’s electricity supply by that year, and solar power alone will account for more energy than is currently produced by the entire U.S. electricity system.
Wilkinson says China has been strategically investing in renewable technologies for years and is now the world’s largest supplier of clean technology, electric vehicles and critical minerals.
He says Canada needs to “double down on investing” in the economy of the future.
He says Canada’s oil and gas industry needs to move as quickly as it can to decarbonize its operations, because that is the only way it will increase or even maintain its position as the market begins to shrink.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 25, 2023.
