The federal government prioritized the transition to a low-carbon economy in Budget 2022 with support for initiatives that help drive the energy sector’s path to net zero including incentives to accelerate carbon capture, storage and utilization (CCUS).
The Budget from Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland titled A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable aligns with Ottawa’s new emissions-reduction plan. The Budget includes measures to increase investment in clean power and decarbonization of sectors including energy, agriculture and transportation, to drive economic growth.
The Budget includes a new Canada Innovation and Investment Agency and a new $15 billion Canada Growth Fund intended to attract private sector investment to projects that reduce emissions or expand low-carbon growth. The Canada Infrastructure Bank’s mandate was expanded to invest in private sector-led projects that accelerate the low-carbon economy.
“On the fight against climate change alone – to build a net-zero economy by 2050 – Canada will need between $125 billion and $140 billion of investment every year over that period. Today, annual investment in the climate transition is between $15 billion and $25 billion,” the Budget said.
Ensuring Calgary is a leader in energy transition as part of a diversified economy is a key focus for the city’s economic strategy, Calgary in the New Economy.
A net-zero pathway in Alberta could create 170,000 jobs and contribute $61 billion to GDP by 2050, concluded The Alberta Energy Transition Study released by Calgary Economic Development, Edmonton Global and PrariesCan in December, 2021. It said Alberta needs to more than double investment in cleantech to $2.1 billion a year by 2030, increasing to $5.5 billion by 2040.
The Budget includes a tax credit for companies making investments in CCUS to capture GHG emissions for storage underground or use in industrial processes. It does not include applying it for enhanced oil recovery. CCUS is one of the leading technologies advanced in the Alberta Energy Transition Study.
“Budget 2022 puts a priority on spurring the private sector to apply innovative thinking and technology to create solutions for global challenges like energy transition, which is also our goal with the economic strategy Calgary in the New Economy,” said Brad Parry, President and Chief Executive Officer, Calgary Economic Development.
“It will take all orders of government working collaboratively with the private sector and our post-secondaries to accelerate real-world application of research and development of cleantech that will drive progress in all industries.”
For more information on Calgary’s energy and environment sector, visit our industry profile. To learn more about Calgary’s economic strategy, visit Calgary in the New Economy.