This week we would like to share another podcast with you, called “Energy vs Climate.” The three hosts are David Keith, Sara Hastings-Simon and Ed Whittingham. Every two weeks the trio, along with their guests, break down the trade-offs and hard truths of the energy transition in Alberta, Canada, and beyond. This episode is a discussion from October 2021 on the challenges of decarbonizing the Aviation sector with guest Dr. Steven Barrett of MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. If yo...
Feb 08, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 141
Brent oil price is near $90/B now and WTI is not far behind. Peter and Jackie discuss the latest price moves and drivers. They also muse over the return of geopolitical tensions in the oil markets. While geopolitics have historically been a significant factor in the oil markets and price formation, over the past decade the impact has been more muted. Finally, they review the volatile equity markets so far in 2022. Energy transition names have been under pressure while oil and gas equities have r...
Feb 01, 2022•31 min•Season 1Ep. 140
This week Catherine Cobden joins our podcast. Catherine is the President and CEO of the Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA). Canadian steel is already some of the lowest carbon product in the world and the industry has announced goals to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. Here are some of the questions we asked Catherine: What are some of the technologies that can reduce the greenhouse gas emissions for producing steel? How advanced are these low carbon processes now? The...
Jan 25, 2022•30 min•Season 1Ep. 139
On this episode, Peter and Jackie review the ARC Energy Research Institute’s recently released outlook for the Canadian oil and gas economy for 2022. See the last page of our weekly ARC Energy Charts publication to review the 2022 estimate of revenue, cash flow and other metrics here . They also discuss a recent commentary by Peter titled “ Meet the New Boom, Different from the Last Boom ” that lists the many reasons why this oil bull run is different than past cycles. Finally, they review the n...
Jan 18, 2022•34 min•Season 1Ep. 138
Peter and Jackie start the year off by introducing seven topics that are likely to dominate energy and climate discussions in 2022: Oil Price Geopolitics Elections Inflation and the Economy Sustainable Finance Clean Energy Spending Energy and Climate Policy in the US and Canada See Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s mandate letters: Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister of Natural Resources . Learn more about the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) and read “ Building ...
Jan 11, 2022•30 min•Season 1Ep. 137
On this week’s podcast we look back on the big themes that shaped 2021 by reviewing our past podcasts. Peter and Jackie also revisit their 2021 predictions made at the start of the year to see how well they did. View the ARC SnapChart on the Global EV Sales Data for 2021: Strong Showing for EV Sales in 2021 View the report on the economic potential of the energy transition for Alberta commissioned by Calgary Economic Development and Edmonton Global “Alberta Energy Transition.” Please review our ...
Dec 14, 2021•27 min•Season 1Ep. 136
This week our guest is Robert Hornung, the founding President and CEO of the Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA). The industry group is the voice for wind energy, solar energy and energy storage solutions in Canada. Recently CanREA released "Powering Canada's Journey to Net-Zero: CanREA's 2050 Vision" which sets an aspiration for Canada’s wind and solar capacity to increase 10-fold by 2050. Here are some of the questions Peter and Jackie asked Robert: What are the barriers to achievin...
Dec 07, 2021•31 min•Season 1Ep. 135
Last Friday, November 26, oil prices dropped $US 10/B after a new COVID variant named Omicron was discovered. The same day, the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) made a historic decision to deny Enbridge’s application to enter into long-term contracts for 90% of the Mainline oil pipeline. Jackie and Peter discuss the volatile oil markets, the possible impacts to global oil demand and the significance of the CER’s decision to keep Canada’s dominant pipeline open access for all. View the CER's full de...
Nov 30, 2021•29 min•Season 1Ep. 134
This week our guest is Andrew Weaver. He is a climate scientist, professor at the University of Victoria, and former leader of the British Columbia Green Party. Here are some of the questions we asked Andrew: Why did you decide to become a politician? Is climate change contributing to BC’s extreme weather this year? How obtainable is the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5ºC? You have publicly supported the Liberal and BC climate plans, why did you face some criticism for this support? Why ar...
Nov 23, 2021•40 min•Season 1Ep. 133
This week Larry Burns joins our podcast. Larry is a Business Advisor on Mobility, Logistics, Manufacturing, Energy and Innovation—in short, he is a guru in the area of self-driving vehicles and mobility. Here are some of the questions we asked Larry: What level of autonomous driving has been achieved? Do people want fully autonomous vehicles? How would self-driving work for long distance heavy hauling? What about the “last mile” deliveries? Can self-driving work in extreme weather conditions, li...
Nov 16, 2021•30 min•Season 1Ep. 132
We start this week’s podcast sharing thoughts on the first week of the COP26 climate conference currently underway in Glasgow, Scotland. Highlights include the major goals of the conference and the announcement of a major initiative to mobilize private finance led by Mark Carney. We also cover the recent price inflation for oil and gas, including OPEC+, US shale oil and the importance of winter weather. See Morgan Brazilian’s article “Make the COP Boring Again.” Learn more about the Glasgow Fina...
Nov 09, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 131
This week, Dr. Arthur Turrell, author of the recently published book “The Star Builders – Nuclear Fusion and the Race to Power the Planet” joins the podcast. Arthur has a PhD in plasma physics and writes about fusion energy in a way that makes sense for the average person. Here are some of the questions Peter and Jackie asked Arthur: What are the advantages of fusion energy? How does it differ from nuclear fission? The National Ignition Facility (NIF) made global news this past summer breaking t...
Nov 02, 2021•35 min•Season 1Ep. 130
On this week’s episode we interview Barbara Zvan, inaugural President and CEO of the University Pension Plan in Ontario. Barb is recognized as a leading voice on sustainable investing and was appointed to the Canadian Government’s Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance that released recommendations for increasing the amount of sustainable investment in Canada in 2019. Barbara tell us about a new initiative, called C limate Engagement Canada (CEC) . CEC is a group of Canadian investors with $3 trill...
Oct 26, 2021•31 min•Season 1Ep. 129
This week, Matthew J. Sagers, Vice President at IHS Markit and head of the Russian and Caspian Energy Advisory service joins the podcast. Here are some of the questions we asked Matt Sagers: Why is the Nord Stream 2 pipeline so controversial? Why isn’t Russia ramping-up its natural gas exports to help Europe? Will the high prices for energy now accelerate the energy transition or slow it down? How do Russian oil and gas companies rate for ESG? Could Russia increase its oil production? To learn m...
Oct 19, 2021•35 min•Season 1Ep. 128
In this week’s podcast, Peter and Jackie talk about why the lack of charging infrastructure in North America is holding back the adoption of electric vehicles (EV). The charging problem is amplified because Canada and the United States do not mandate a standard electrical plug-in. Read Jackie’s commentary “Canada EV Mass Adoption: Are We There Yet?” Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/...
Oct 12, 2021•32 min•Season 1Ep. 127
Europe is heading into winter with historically low inventories of natural gas. The scarcity has driven up the global prices of every type of energy, including natural gas, coal and oil. Despite the rising commodity prices, energy supply has not been growing. On this week’s podcast, Jackie and Peter discuss the European energy crisis and the lessons it provides for energy security and energy transition. They also cover the results of the recent Canadian federal election and what can be expected ...
Oct 05, 2021•29 min•Season 1Ep. 126
On this week’s Podcast, Jackie and Peter discuss how inflation and affordability have come into the spotlight. How is inflation measured and how much has it increased? What is the connection between oil price and inflation? And, if a more sustained period of inflation were to occur, what are the implications? See Peter’s recent commentary “A New Episode of the Oil Cycle: Inflation.” Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/...
Sep 28, 2021•30 min•Season 1Ep. 125
As you got out of bed this morning and flicked on the lights and coffee maker, how many of you thought about where the electricity came from? Scott Thon, the CEO of AltaLink and President and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy Canada is our guest this week. Scott helps explain what is going on with the grids and wires we rely on, today and in the future. Here are some of the questions we asked Scott: What is the current state of power generation and grids, especially in Alberta? What are the pros ...
Sep 17, 2021•33 min•Season 1Ep. 124
Few in Canada know the pioneering work of Geoffrey Ballard and his Vancouver based fuel cell company called Ballard Power. Founded in 1979, it’s now recognized as one of the pre-eminent manufacturers of fuel cells in the world today. This week, the President & CEO of Ballard Power, Randy MacEwen joins our podcast. Here are some of the questions we asked Randy MacEwen: What is Ballard’s fuel cell technology, products and markets? How do fuel cells compare with batteries for mobility? There ha...
Sep 14, 2021•33 min•Season 1Ep. 123
The ARC podcast is back! This week we cover some of the big news over the summer break, including Canada’s upcoming federal election, the extreme weather experienced this past summer and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) sixth climate report. Canadians head to the polls on September 20th in the federal election. What are the big election issues? What is expected for climate and energy? During a summer of extreme weather, the IPCC issued their Sixth Climate Assessment Report ...
Sep 07, 2021•29 min•Season 1Ep. 122
In this episode we showcase Peter’s new Energyphile story “Reinventing the Wheel”. What can companies facing radical disruption today learn from history? The McLaughlin Carriage Company was a leader in high-end carriages. Yet at the peak of its game, it started manufacturing automobiles. It’s a rare company that would, or could, make such a pivot — and so successfully. McLaughlin went on to become General Motors Canada. Energyphile is part museum, part library and part business school, to read a...
Aug 03, 2021•39 min•Season 1Ep. 121
Responding to a very large number of carbon sequestration inquiries, the Alberta Government issued an Information Letter that proposes a centralized hub model for storing carbon in the province. This week, Tristan Goodman, the President of the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada (EPAC) joins the podcast to offer his perspective on Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) policy. In addition to central hubs, EPAC proposes that Alberta consider a distributed model for storing carbon...
Jul 06, 2021•36 min•Season 1Ep. 120
As the world embarks on re-piping and re-wiring energy systems in the pursuit of decarbonization, the plan should be to make the future energy infrastructure more secure than the past. This week on the podcast, Jackie and Peter review several energy security learnings from history. In the pursuit of the best economics, often energy security is ignored. These vulnerabilities create problems later on. One example is the current situation with Enbridge Line 5, where the state of Michigan is trying ...
Jun 22, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 119
Canadian oil sands companies are typically rivals, but now they have announced a collective project for achieving net zero GHG emissions by 2050. Producers that account for 90% of oil sands production - Canadian Natural Resources, Cenovus Energy, Imperial, MEG Energy and Suncor Energy - have announced the “Oil Sands Pathways to Net Zero” initiative. This week, our guests – Rhona DelFrari, Chief Sustainability Officer and Senior Vice-President, Stakeholder Engagement at Cenovus and Pam McIntyre, ...
Jun 15, 2021•32 min•Season 1Ep. 118
Solar is starting to shine in Canada. Five utility scale solar projects have been announced in Alberta so far this year. Residential solar should benefit from newly announced federal government incentives. This week Nicholas Gall, the Director of Distributed Energy Resources at the Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) joins the podcast. Here are some of the questions Peter and Jackie asked Nicholas: What is the size of the solar market in Canada now? Why is Alberta getting all of these...
Jun 08, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 117
This past week, Shell, Exxon and Chevron were all in the headlines as these three supermajors are being pushed, in the boardroom and courtroom, to transition more quickly towards a low carbon future. Adding to the pressure, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released their much-anticipated Net Zero 2050 Scenario, stating that no new oil and gas fields beyond those committed in 2021 are needed. On this week’s podcast, we review the IEA Net Zero 2050 Scenario. How fast does oil and gas producti...
Jun 01, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 116
Canada is a global leader in Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS), with four large-scale operating projects. However, compared to the United States, new investment in Canada is not keeping pace. This week our guest is Beth (Hardy) Valiaho, Vice President, Strategy & Stakeholder Relations at the International CCS Knowledge Centre. Beth tells us about the state of CCUS in Canada and our competitive position. Here are some of the questions Peter and Jackie asked her: How are carbon dio...
May 18, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 115
The Canadian Clean Fuel Standard (CFS) will come into force next year with the objective of lowering the carbon intensity of fuels, such as gasoline and diesel. This week David Schick, Western Canadian Vice President from the Canadian Fuels Association joins the podcast to talk about the future, including learnings from British Columbia’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) that has been in place for a decade. Here are some of the questions Peter and Jackie asked David: Has BC’s LCFS reduced the GHG...
May 11, 2021•29 min•Season 1Ep. 114
Housing prices in Canada are heating up again, and so are carbon taxes. In a price war, home energy efficiency may not be top-of-mind for buyers, but with rising carbon taxes maybe it should be. This week Jackie and Peter talk energy efficiency, including: How important is energy efficiency for achieving a low carbon future? What are the government incentives for energy efficiency? Will higher carbon taxes reduce the historic barriers for investing in energy efficiency? What is a heat pump? Are ...
May 04, 2021•29 min•Season 1Ep. 113
In the past week, Canada and the United States committed to more ambitious GHG emission reduction targets, the Canadian government announced a historic budget, and the Bank of Canada provided an economic outlook. This week, John Stackhouse, Senior Vice President, Office of the RBC CEO, joined the podcast to discuss the recent announcements. Here are some of the questions Peter and Jackie asked John: What is RBC’s outlook for the Canadian economy? What is your reaction to the Canadian budget? Sho...
Apr 27, 2021•31 min•Season 1Ep. 112
