2014 Energy and Mines Ministers’ Conference
BACKGROUNDER – CANADA’S ANNUAL ENERGY AND MINES MINISTERS’ CONFERENCE – ENERGY
At the 2014 Energy and Mines Ministers’ Conference (EMMC), federal, provincial and territorial ministers discussed current opportunities and challenges related to responsible energy use, innovation and transportation.
This year’s conference theme Our Resources, New Frontiers continues to build upon the framework developed in previous years for defining the importance of natural resources to Canada’s economic future and the need to capture opportunities for all Canadians now and for years to come. Development of our natural resources produces numerous economic advantages for this country, driving investment and creating jobs. However, to maintain our competitive edge and global reputation as a leader in this field, we must look for continual improvement by diversifying our markets, supporting energy innovation to maintain Canadian competitiveness and using energy responsibly.
Energy Innovation
Technological innovation is key to competitiveness in a changing global and Canadian landscape as it unlocks energy resources and addresses environmental issues. As a result, a continued focus on energy innovation will be critical to maintain Canada’s resource advantage and enable significant economic growth over the next five to 10 years.
The report, Mobilizing Canada’s Energy Advantage, confirms that governments play an important role in innovation, particularly in mitigating market failures and other barriers to private sector investment, such as high capital costs with long-term pay-outs, complexity and uncertainty, and limited access to global markets and venture capital.
In response, Canadian governments are employing a suite of tools to stimulate investment, from tax incentives and regulations to a wide range of direct funding programs. The report is supplemented by a Compendium on Energy Technology Innovation in Canada, which describes government measures across the country that support energy technology innovation.
The report finds that partnerships across the public and private sectors are instrumental in helping to focus limited capacity and resources. To maximize the economic benefits to Canada from the various efforts underway across the country, the ministers emphasized the need to pursue enhanced coordination and collaboration on energy innovation in Canada.
Safe Transportation of Energy
Canada has more than 825,000 km of transmission, gathering and distribution pipelines. Pipelines are necessary to deliver fuel to Canadians to heat their homes, drive their cars and travel by bus, ship, train and air.The ministers discussed the need for expansion of Canada’s energy infrastructure to capitalize on economic growth and jobs from the continued development of Canada’s oil and gas industry. To support this objective, the ministers agreed on the need to work collaboratively to strengthen Canada’s energy transportation systems, with a focus on pipeline safety.
The ministers agreed that Canada must continue to collaborate and build on recently announced measures to improve our world-class marine, rail and pipeline safety systems along three pillars: prevention, preparedness and response, and liability and compensation.
The report, Safety and Security of Energy Pipelines in Canada, represents a detailed review of the regulatory and safety regimes governing energy pipelines in Canada.
Responsible Energy UseResponsible energy use through energy efficiency provides significant savings to consumers and industry. In 2011 alone, Canadian consumers saved over $20 billion and businesses over $14 billion in energy costs from all energy efficiency improvements since 1990. The report, Energy Efficiency Update 2014: Economic Benefits of Responsible Energy Use, describes the various ways that energy efficiency contributes to economic growth and job creation in Canada.
Canada is a recognized leader in this area, and the International Energy Agency ranked Canada second out of 15 countries, behind Germany and tied with the United Kingdom, for its rate of energy efficiency improvement from 1990 to 2010.
The ministers agreed that reinforcing existing collaborations would help to improve the competitiveness and productivity of energy-intensive Canadian businesses, empower consumers to make informed choices and enhance energy performance.
The Government of Canada highlighted that Canada and the U.S. are leading a project under the Global Superior Energy Performance Partnership to develop an ISO 50001 Auditor certification scheme. This initiative would improve the consistency of certifications in Canada by establishing a qualified workforce of certified energy management systems auditors and lead auditors.
The Government of Canada lauded the success of the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager benchmarking tool, which was launched last year at EMMC 2013. Canadian organizations are using the tool to track the energy performance of over 7,400 buildings in all provinces and territories, almost 14 percent of Canadian commercial floor space. The tool is expected to yield annual energy savings of three percent for registered buildings owners.
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