OTTAWA — Canadians are — and will remain — among the biggest consumers of energy over the next decade even as policies ramp up to make the country more energy-efficient, a global energy forecast suggests.
The agency report forecasts that as a result of policies to make homes more efficient, remove fossil fuels from the power grid and put more electric cars on the road,
But it will still be among the highest energy use in the world, and even though energy demand is expected to rise in
It takes about 25 gigajoules to power the average Canadian house over 12 months, but the total energy use per person references all energy used, including in transportation, industry, and heating and cooling.
The IEA report doesn't breakdown
"But it doesn't have to be this way," she said. "This doesn't need to translate into high energy needs. We can see other countries that have similar climates being more energy-efficient."
Science suggests the world is already an average of 1 C warmer than it was in pre-industrial times, as decades of fossil-fuel burning left millions of tonnes of heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide and methane sitting in the atmosphere.
The world is witnessing more frequent extreme weather — heat waves and droughts, massive hurricanes and flooding — at current temperatures, and Stewart said every one-tenth of a degree will add more climate hurt.
Global scientists concur that above 2 C, climate change will become catastrophic and irreversible.
The IEA looked at three scenarios for energy use over the next few decades: one based on only existing climate policies, which would lead to warming of 2.6 C, one based on implementing all the policies promised but not yet enacted, which would lead to 2.1 C, and one based on getting to net zero emissions by 2050.
It is only that last scenario, which would mean no new greenhouse gas emissions are left in the atmosphere, where warming can be limited to 1.5 C, the IEA said.
This report by
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version erroneously reported that
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