2011 Energy and Mines Ministers Conference

Ministers agreed to initiate voluntary collaborative work in the following areas:

I.       Economic Prosperity & Responsible Energy Supply

1.      Intensify efforts to streamline regulatory project reviews to improve efficiency and effectiveness, with timely, transparent, fair and predictable processes. The goal is one project, one review for environmental assessments and associated regulatory processes.

2.      Collaborate and focus efforts on capturing new markets and promoting international trade opportunities for energy and energy-related technology and service exports to global customers.

3.      Engage with the US on electricity grid issues (grid reliability, cyber security and smart grids) and support further development of the US market for Canada’s clean and renewable electricity (including hydro).

4.      Share information and best practices on (1) the development and integration of emerging renewable sources of electricity and (2) developing and regulating oil and gas resources, including shale gas.

5.      Collaborate on the development of infrastructure to facilitate the diversification and expansion of efficient and competitive markets for energy products and services.

II.    Efficient Energy Use

1.      Build on the energy efficiency accomplishments derived from EMMC 2010 commitments, including:
a.       Publish more stringent model energy code for buildings and commit to a cycle of further improvements.
b.      Collaborate on next generation home energy rating system to support labelling, codes and incentives.
c.       Strengthen business capacity to finance energy efficiency projects in the built environment by providing tools.

2.      Advance the energy efficiency of freight transportation in Canada.

3.      Improve the energy efficiency of energy-using products purchased by Canadians.

4.      Improve industrial energy performance by adopting the ISO 50001 international energy management standard.

5.      Collaborate with the goal of identifying and implementing new trends in integrated community energy planning.

III. Knowledge and Innovation

1.      Identify critical energy technology areas to enable Canada’s transition to a lower-carbon emission economy and develop an action plan to advance them through collaborative, public-private sector research, development and demonstration.  Critical energy technology areas may include:

a.       Smart grid technologies
b.      Renewable fuels and sources of electricity
c.       Shale gas
d.      Marine renewables
e.       Electric vehicles
f.       Carbon capture and storage (CCS)

2.      Benchmark the performance of Canada’s energy innovation system against key international competitors.

3.      Develop a collaborative approach to energy information, including collaboration on increasing energy awareness and literacy.

4.      Collaborate to find innovative and effective ways to develop and educate a workforce for the energy industry.

Ministers tasked officials to advance work in the following initial priorities for action, leading to EMMC 2012:

1)      Regulatory Reform

2)      Energy Efficiency

3)      Energy Information and Awareness

4)      New Markets and International Trade

5)      Smart Grid and Electricity Reliability