Julia Kilpatrick

Severe weather-related insured losses in Canada exceed $2.4 billion in 2025 /CNW/ - Insured damage caused by severe weather events exceeded $2.4 billion in 2025, according to Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ). This...

Insured damages from extreme weather events in Canada were the 10th highest on record last year.

Between 2016 and 2025, insured losses from catastrophic weather events and wildfires totaled $37 billion—nearly triple the previous decade. www.newswire.ca/news-release...

2025 was defined by uncertainty on climate policy in Canada that needs quick resolution | Corporate Knights OPINION | There were some wins but when it comes to concrete actions to protect people and communities across Canada, much is left wanting

The past year was a whirlwind when it came to climate policy.

Read @rjcsmith.bsky.social's year-end wrap up and look-ahead to 2026.👇

"The problems we face are urgent, but the solutions are right in front of us."
corporateknights.com/perspectives...

Increasing production of Alberta oil and gas to reach Canada's export and national security goals, creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs, while simultaneously reaching carbon neutrality by, in part, reducing the emissions intensity of Canadian heavy oil production to best in class in terms of the average for heavy oil by 2050

screenshot of the pathways website saying "we're making clear strides to net zero. oil sands are on a path to net-zero emissions"

MOU reactions hot take:

So about that 2050 net zero claim from the Pathways website (courtesy of the wayback machine)?

New data shows the world is embracing renewable energy. Canada can’t follow Trump’s fossil fuel obsession North America at risk of becoming an island of fossil fuels in an electrifying world. Canada should take note and choose a better path.

The latest @iea.org report shows the transition away from fossil fuels is coming, whether Donald Trump likes it or not. Canada should take note and choose a better path.

Read more from @gmbutts.bsky.social, @rjcsmith.bsky.social and Peter Nicholson.
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

FACT SHEET: Industrial carbon pricing in Canada Industrial carbon pricing is Canada’s most important policy for cutting carbon pollution and creating a competitive clean economy.

There’s a lot of confusion circulating on industrial carbon pricing and food prices in Canada.

Our fact sheet lays out why this cost-effective policy has essentially no impact on the price of groceries and other products.

Here’s a short 🧵
climateinstitute.ca/news/fact-sh...

Opinion: A decade after the Paris Agreement, the clean economy is winning As the world’s climate negotiators gather in Brazil, they must understand that the energy transition is now inevitable

Supercharged natural disasters make more headlines & oil and gas makes more noise, but @theturner.bsky.social says the biggest climate story since Paris is the simply staggering speed at which the global energy transition has zoomed from margin to mainstream

www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

Budget 2025 takes clear steps to strengthen Canada's climate competitiveness Success will hinge on swift implementation and more concrete details to create policy certainty and attract investment.

Today’s federal budget takes clear steps to strengthen Canada’s climate competitiveness, but success will depend on swift implementation and more details to create policy certainty and attract investment.

Read our full statement ⬇️
climateinstitute.ca/news/budget-...

The internet needs more of this today. You’re welcome.

Wells calls China's rise as a green-energy superpower "the single biggest development in climate geopolitics since Paris"

"74% of global solar and wind projects are now being constructed in China or by Chinese companies...this year, China has installed twice as much solar as the rest of the world."

In particular: "In 2024, renewables provided more than 40 percent of the world’s electricity, and twice as much money was invested in them than in fossil fuels — even though renewables offer, generally speaking, less return on investment. 93% of new power worldwide came from clean sources." And...

It Isn’t Just the U.S. The Whole World Has Soured on Climate Politics.

Today we @climateinstitute.bsky.social had the sobering task of officially calling Canada's 2030 climate target unachievable. @dwallacewells.bsky.social offers a hopeful counterpoint in this piece on the pace of investment in clean energy worldwide. #cdnclimate www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/m...

NEW: Our early estimate of Canada’s national emissions is out and shows progress stalled in 2024.

The country’s 2030 targets are now out of reach, emphasizing the need for a coordinated policy reset with the federal and provincial governments. ⬇️
climateinstitute.ca/news/2024-em...

Here are 10 provocations on climate and energy. Tell me if you agree, disagree or have a nuanced take. Drop your own provocations in reply or quote post.

Start:

1. By 2030, the use of air conditioning will lead to greater increase in electricity demand than data centers. And it's not even close!

As Parliament returns, protecting Canadians and our economy from climate change must be a top priority Statement from the Canadian Climate Institute’s Peter Nicholson Sr. and Rick Smith on policy priorities for the fall 2025 sitting of Parliament.

As Parliament resumes next week, the federal government must act urgently to address the ways climate change is threatening Canadians’ health, security, economic competitiveness, and ways of life.

Read our full statement ⬇️
climateinstitute.ca/news/as-parl...

Darkened by ash from wildfires, glaciers in the Canadian Rockies are melting even faster Ash on the surface of once-reflective glaciers accelerates the rapid melting of ice long after fires are extinguished

Sobering article on how wildfire ash is accelerating the decline of glaciers here in AB and elsewhere. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

Covering Wildfire: A Toolkit for Editors, Reporters, and Media Professionals As Canada experiences its second-worst wildfire season on record, the Mitigating Wildfire Initiative (MWI) at Simon Fraser University has launched Covering Wildfire: A Toolkit for Editors, Reporters, ...

Excellent, detailed resource for journalists reporting on wildfires, from @maxbellschool.bsky.social and SFU Centre for Dialogue. Especially front-of-mind today as my pre-schooler explained why the air is too smoky to play outside. #cdnmedia #cdnclimate #wildfires

www.sfu.ca/dialogue/wha...

Combining industrial carbon pricing with an emissions cap could offer less than the sum of their parts In addressing interactions between policies, modernizing industrial carbon pricing and finalizing methane regulations should ...

Governments should prioritize modernizing industrial carbon pricing and finalizing the methane regulations for the oil and gas sector when considering emissions reductions from the proposed oil and gas cap.🧵⬇️ 440megatonnes.ca/insight/comb...

Finalizing Canada’s oil and gas methane regulations Cutting oil and gas methane emissions 75 per cent by 2030 will leverage Canadian success and expertise. Reducing methane ...

Our new analysis out today underlines the critical importance of improved methane regulations in the oil and gas sector. That’s something we’ve taken a deep dive into in our recent work. Read more here: 440megatonnes.ca/fr/insight/a...

New modelling and analysis shows why Canada’s industrial carbon pricing systems urgently need to be fixed or risk losing out on investments that will lead to big emissions reductions. ⬇️
440megatonnes.ca/insight/indu...

Cancelling industrial carbon pricing would destroy billions of dollars of assets Dismantling large-emitter trading systems would erase billions in investment.Industrial carbon pricing—also known as ...

Bonus reading: 440megatonnes.ca/insight/canc...

Eliminating industrial carbon pricing would undermine competitiveness and Canada's climate progress Industrial carbon pricing is the most important policy Canada has for cutting carbon pollution and creating a competitive clean economy.

Why cancelling industrial carbon pricing would hurt not help 🇨🇦 companies:
☑️ creates uncertainty for businesses + investors
☑️ jeopardizes $5 billion in credit values in Alberta alone
☑️ undermines Canadian exports to priority trading partners like the UK + EU. Details 👇 #cdnpoli
tinyurl.com/34r4vz6u

President Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin have launched an unprecedented attack on the EPA’s mission to protect the environment and public health.

Their plans include repealing standards vital to combatting the climate crisis and shuttering the EPA's environmental justice office.

#ClosingSoon ❗

➡️ Do you know how to find, process and analyse data?
➡️ Can you spot opportunities to use data to inform topical talking points?
➡️ Do you want to contribute to accurate reporting of climate change and energy?

Apply for the data analyst position here ➡️ https://buff.ly/4hfk2BD

As Canada builds new homes, B.C. to absorb most of the cost from disaster: study New homes in the way of wildfire and flooding to cost B.C. $2.2 billion year by 2030, far more than anywhere else in Canada.

In the worst-case scenario, building new homes in dangerous places could lead [BC] to absorb 95 per cent of Canada’s increased damages from wildfires and half of the spike in the country’s flood bill...The financial risk could surpass $2.2 billion per year in BC
www.richmond-news.com/top-stories/...

Demand for new housing presses up against growing climate risks Hundreds of thousands of those new homes are destined to be built in areas across the country at high risk of wildfires and floods, according to new report

Excellent reporting by @justinehunter.bsky.social on risk to new homes in B.C.
“Many B.C. municipalities are simply unprepared for the growing threat from floods and wildfires. Changing where and how we build housing isn’t easy, but it’s far better than the alternative.” R.Ness tinyurl.com/yvnupnyv

Figure 10 from close to home report showing possible wildfire damage to existing homes in Canada

Check out the climate institute's report - close to home. Wildfire and flooding risk could increase significantly. Wildfire impacts could be highest in Alberta and BC (Fig. 10 below)
climateinstitute.ca/reports/clos...
We need cooperation from all levels of government to address this challenge.

Our latest major report is out 🎉 and it hits *close to home* for those of us living in communities facing both a housing shortage AND the threat of floods and fires each season. Please read and share 👇 #cdnpoli #abpoli #CANclimate

Canadian Climate Institute supports strong, united response to U.S. tariffs - Canadian Climate Institute TORONTO—Rick Smith, President of the Canadian Climate Institute, made the following statement in response to incoming U.S. tariffs on Canadian exports:  “The Canadian Climate Institute is in full supp...

Canadian Climate Institute supports strong, united response to U.S. tariffs. Read our full statement ⬇️
climateinstitute.ca/news/canadia...

Not long ago coal provided almost 40% of our electricity.

Today it is 0%.

Coal’s decline was achieved without switching to gas, driven instead by renewables & demand reduction.

Wind and solar experienced massive growth as coal entered terminal decline.

@ember-energy.org