The most recent climate dreamers can be found in Quebec and British Columbia. Pictured: Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim. Photo Credit: Ken Sim/X.
Despite the growing body of evidence that energy sources such as wind and solar are unreliable, prohibitively expensive and nowhere near as “green” as advertised, governments continue to pursue policies to achieve the fabled goal of “net zero” greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The most recent climate dreamers can be found in Quebec and British Columbia.
A couple of weeks ago, the Quebec provincial government announced that it was banning the use of natural gas in residential, commercial and institutional buildings by 2040. The government is also planning to prohibit the installation of gas heaters in new residential projects as of 2026. A number of municipal governments in Quebec have also banned the installation of gas infrastructure in new housing construction in the last few months.
This kind of knee-jerk policy demonstrates a profound misunderstanding of the different sources of energy, their relative advantages and disadvantages and the impact of such drastic policies on energy costs and the economy. It also shows that governments continue to cater to extreme climate alarmists rather than scientific experts and research based on facts.
Ironically, Quebec’s own electricity utility Hydro-Quebec is warning against these types of restrictive policies, noting that they foresee the continued use of natural gas as essential since they expect demand for electricity to continue to increase in future years, especially for heating during cold Quebec winters. People may take some comfort that the deadlines for these various policy changes are in the future, but decisions are being made now that will be difficult and costly to reverse going forward. Current housing shortages mean that there will be considerable residential development over the next few years. Not putting in place the infrastructure to allow the use of natural gas in these new houses will severely limit the choices of future homeowners and impose higher costs for less reliability. This is not merely an economic issue, but could endanger people’s lives if essential services such as heat during a cold winter are compromised.
Meanwhile, in relatively balmy B.C., the City of Vancouver council voted last week against a by-law amendment that would have reversed previous municipal policies that outlawed the use of natural gas in new construction developments. The original ban on natural gas had been passed in 2022, but an amendment had been tabled to reverse it. The vote was close, but the nays prevailed. Vancouver may enjoy the benefit of a moderate climate, unlike much of the rest of Canada, but such a ban still constrains choices for citizens, imposes higher energy costs and boosts real estate prices in a market that is already priced out of reach for most people. Once again, climate zealotry prevailed over common sense and sensible economics.
What far too many governments fail to realize is that the entire “net zero” concept being promoted by the climate cult is based on lies. It is often claimed that the cost of wind and solar power are falling sharply, but this is not true. As wind and solar are intermittent and therefor unreliable, an accurate costing of electricity generated from these sources needs to include the cost of the necessary back-up power (typically natural gas) to cover the times when wind and solar are not generating electricity as well as battery back-ups that store power. Current battery technology is inadequate to store sufficient energy for when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow.
Wind and solar are also nowhere near as “green” as they’re made out to be. Now that many wind turbines and solar panels have reached the end of their lifespan, it is becoming increasingly problematic and expensive to dispose of their components that cannot be recycled and often present environmental hazards as toxic elements are present in some of their parts. Another cost that needs to be considered is the immense amount of land wind and solar farms use that could otherwise be devoted to agriculture or other valuable purposes.
These costs are never factored in by the climate crusaders. The fact that wind and solar energy produce so much non-recyclable waste suggests they should not really be called “renewable” at all. And let’s face it, if wind and solar power were truly inexpensive and reliable, people would flock to them instead of governments having to offer billions of dollars in subsidies to induce their usage.
Something else about natural gas that many people don’t realize is its flexibility. Much of Canada uses nuclear power for its “baseload” power, or the minimum amount of power that is needed on average over time. Nuclear plants are a great source of reliable baseload power, but cannot be ramped up or down quickly to accommodate increased or reduced demand due to weather, the time of day or other factors. Natural gas can quickly respond to changes in demand, and can always be relied upon to deliver unlike intermittent, unreliable wind and solar. People that pretend wind and solar can be an effective replacement for natural gas are either delusional or downright dishonest.
Despite these facts and increasing awareness of the many problems with so-called green energy, some politicians continue to implement policies founded on wishful thinking and dishonest claims as we saw recently in Quebec and British Columbia. Unfortunately, some Canadians may very well be freezing in the dark in future because of decisions that are being made by ill-informed governments today.
She has published numerous articles in journals, magazines & other media on issues such as free trade, finance, entrepreneurship & women business owners. Ms. Swift is a past President of the Empire Club of Canada, a former Director of the CD Howe Institute, the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, SOS Children’s Villages, past President of the International Small Business Congress and current Director of the Fraser Institute. She was cited in 2003 & 2012 as one of the most powerful women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network & is a recipient of the Queen’s Silver & Gold Jubilee medals.
