Ottawa – As Canada advances to a sustainable and prosperous net-zero future by 2050, the federal government is supporting tools for science-based decision-making. Energy modelling will support reducing emissions and the fight against climate change by analyzing the most cost-effective ways to achieve net zero. Investing in modelling helps map out the pathways to achieve net-zero, including the potential roles for existing and emerging energy technologies.
Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources Canada, announced a combined total investment of over $960,000 for three energy-modelling projects with leading organizations across Canada. Energy models are an important tool in planning the pathways to net zero as they use data and software to demonstrate potential outcomes related to changes in the energy system. Together, these projects provide greater insights to inform the future of Canada’s action on clean energy markets, technologies and policies.
These projects include:
- $372,573 to Institut de l’énergie Trottier at Polytechnique Montréal, Quebec, to develop a net-zero energy-modelling platform and an online data visualization dashboard. The interactive dashboard will allow users to explore how various factors could impact Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions.
- $360,000 to Navius Research LLC, in Vancouver, British Columbia, to provide publicly available modelling data on Canada’s net-zero energy future by integrating two energy models. This integration results in an interactive and accessible dashboard, which users can use to explore the impacts of different pathways to a cleaner electricity system.
- $230,000 to The Pembina Institute, in Calgary, Alberta, in collaboration with Energy Innovation, to update the Energy Policy Simulator, which is informed by comprehensive technical stakeholder consultation and available online. The update will better reflect the range of potential technology pathways and the documentation of future modelling needs and opportunities.
Funded through Natural Resources Canada’s Energy Innovation Program (EIP), these tools take into account data such as energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions and projected power capacity to guide the transformation of our complex energy systems to provide evidence-based insights. Collectively, the projects will significantly expand the evidence base for net-zero pathways in Canada, generating hundreds of unique pathways to achieve Canada’s international commitments while creating good jobs and low-carbon industries. The Government of Canada will continue to support innovative projects and technologies that support a strong and prosperous economy as we advance toward net zero by 2050.
“The Government of Canada is supporting innovative energy-modelling tools to map out the pathways to a sustainable and prosperous low-carbon future. Today, we announced support for three leading Canadian organizations that have developed interactive energy-modelling tools. We are pleased to support Canadians in using the latest science and evidence to identify the clean economic opportunities associated with net zero.” – Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources Minister of Natural Resources
“Charting Canada’s path to net zero emissions by 2050 requires a solid, evidence-based understanding of many complementary pathways and policy options. More data-driven modelling can only help us as Canadians choose the most efficient, affordable and effective trajectories to a cleaner future.” – Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change