The Ontario government released its Climate Change Progress Report, Climate Vision on November 13, 2012. The report gives an account of the Governnment’s past, current and future planned climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. It features some great success stories and signs of leadership from non-governmental bodies, including Project Neutral (Travis sits on the Board!). Some highlights we’ve teased out thus ... Read More »

The global market for low carbon goods and services (LCGS) could grow from $339 billion (2010) to between $3.9 and $8.3 trillion per year by 2050, according to a new report released by the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRT).  Framing the Future: Embracing the Low-Carbon Economy – considers how Canada needs to position itself with ... Read More »

The Western Climate Initiative, Inc. has announced a new release of its Compliance Instrument Tracking System Service (CITSS). The new release of CITSS adds features and functionality to manage compliance instruments. The CITSS is currently used in Quebec and California as they embark on their linked cap-and-trade systems.  Further details of the announcement and WCI, Inc. can be found here. ... Read More »

ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability) is hosting its annual Liveable Cities Forum 2012 in Hamilton, Ontario from November 29-30th. Travis will be discussing the business case for climate adaptation with a focus on municipalities. You can register on the ICLEI website here. Panel Summary: A4 – Making the Municipal Business Case  Introduction to Business 101 teaches us of the importance ... Read More »

A recent decision by Vancity Investment Managements Ltd. to remove Enbridge from two SRI funds and employee pension plans suggests a growing concern over the financial influence of environmental risks. The decision to withdraw came as a result of alarm over Enbridge’s operational management and performance after a series of incidents called into question the safety of the company’s pipelines. ... Read More »

Article by Jessica Vaianisi, Summer Law Student   Canada’s action on climate change, both domestically and internationally, has been largely criticized. Despite its formal withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol in 2011, Canada has stated that it recognizes that “climate change is a global challenge requiring a global solution.”[1] However, Canada’s presence in recent international conferences has attempted to reiterate their ... Read More »

Former climate change denier and Berkley physicist Prof Richard Muller recently renounced his skepticism of global warming in an op-ed piece written for the New York Times after performing his own analysis through the Berkley Earth Surface Temperature project. Previously, Muller maintained dissatisfaction over data that had been used in previous temperature studies [1] but claims that findings within the ... Read More »

The past few summers in Canada have reached record temperatures, with a most recent high of 36.6o C on July 4th, the hottest day of the summer so far.[1]   This “heat shock” has severely affected our food supply, as agricultural scientists have shown that our crops are extremely sensitive to even short periods of high temperature. Output of core ... Read More »

On June 9, 2012, Travis spoke at the Project Neutral neighbourhood summit at the Evergreen Brickworks. Travis gave an overview of carbon credit creation, focusing on how not for profit groups like Project Neutral can create revenue to support projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Project Neutral is an ambitious initiative that aims to create the first urban carbon neutral neighbourhood ... Read More »

The international community, under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is currently meeting to discuss climate change in Bonn, Germany. The conference runs from May 14 to 25, 2012. The Bonn climate conference is the first occasion for 195 parties to the UNFCCC to assess and to continue to implement the results from the Durban conference. “Durban was a ... Read More »