Boosting food and energy security with sustainability in mind
Q&A with Gavin Pitchford
Clean50 Awards executive director and CEO of Delta Management Group
What are some of the challenges Clean50 winners are working to address?
Our overarching goal – to address climate change – is more critically important than ever. Yet recent events, such as the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine, have brought other key components of the clean economy into focus, food and energy security among them.
These are big and complex challenges, and we started the Clean50 because we felt addressing them requires collaborative efforts. Beyond sharing solutions, skills and knowledge, we also need to come together for inspiration and hope. That’s why our community brings together leaders from different industries, from academia, government and non-profits. They approach the challenges from different perspectives and use different levers to work towards a common goal.
What’s your biggest concern about the energy transition?
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has driven oil and gas prices up to their highest level in nearly a decade. As the geopolitics of energy are being redefined, many countries are scrutinizing their energy supplies, and may take this opportunity to accelerate the shift to cleaner energy sources.
Other voices are using that challenge to call for cleaner fossil fuel extraction. Let’s be clear: to meet this moment, the answer is to rapidly eliminate burning oil as an energy source – not just cleaning up extraction.
Transforming Canada’s energy economy has long been a priority, not just from the perspective of reducing emissions but also as an economic opportunity. We know that the shift to clean energy can bring society-wide benefits. We all need to embrace that.
So, what is the state of Canada’s energy transition?
Progress! Canada’s clean energy sector is growing very fast and offers significant opportunities across the economy: generating, storing and delivering clean energy; reducing energy consumption in transportation, buildings and industry; and advancing low-carbon technologies. Every sector is pursuing net-zero and electrification.
There are also growing opportunities to clean up our fossil fuel extraction, which make Alberta and Saskatchewan some of the worst offenders in carbon pollution in the world. For example, Clean50 winner Acceleware developed low-cost, low-emissions radio frequency, renewable energy-powered technology that microwaves oil sands, eliminating use of fresh water, wastewater recycling and natural gas in extraction – huge potential to clean up oil production. We also see significant growth coming out of the hydrogen industry, particularly in B.C. And GreenPower Motors, which builds medium- and heavy-duty all-electric vehicles, is an example of a company that can’t keep up with demand.
What about food security?
A strong food system doesn’t just help to advance food security – it can also enable us to boost global sustainability. For example, we need to import less food from regions where agricultural production has a big environmental footprint.
I am excited about the impact of two Clean50 winners in particular: Ecoation’s team is radically improving yields from greenhouses while dramatically reducing pesticide use. Their tech is monitoring over 3.3 trillion square feet of greenhouses worldwide.
In 2019, agriculture emitted 72.7 megatonnes of carbon dioxide in Canada. At a time when climate events are already negatively impacting Canadian farms, enhancing sustainability in food production requires efforts from governments as well as the industry as a whole. Tori Waugh of Conservation Ag Consulting is connecting with farmers with the goal to use soil more effectively to simultaneously improve soil quality, sequester more carbon and increase yields. She has already influenced an estimated 2,500 agricultural businesses in the way they treat soil across some 180,000 acres.
To view this report on The Globe's website, visit globeandmail.com
To view the full report as it appeared in The Globe's print edition: Clean50