TAKE ACTION! LET'S GET ENMAX TO NET-ZERO BY 2050

For more than a year, the Calgary Climate Hub has been campaigning to ENMAX and their sole shareholder, the City of Calgary, to persuade ENMAX to embrace a net-zero by 2050 target with strong interim targets. In the next several weeks, ENMAX will be releasing its Environment, Social and Governance Policy (ESG).

This is an opportunity for them to commit to setting a net-zero greenhouse gas emission target and interim targets that will ensure that they reach Net-Zero. Please take action with us in advocating for this change alongside our friends at the Calgary Alliance for the Common Good.

We are asking you to take action by writing to:

Points to include in your email:

  • That you are asking ENMAX to declare that it will set a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2050 and set interim targets of:
    • 50 percent of 2016 GHG levels by 2030.
    • 90 percent of 2016 GHG by 2040.
    • 100 percent of 2016 GHG by 2050.
  • That this can help Calgarians avoid increased utility costs as carbon taxes rise.
  • That this can help Calgary transition to a green energy future and develop an economy that can thrive in that future.
  • That other Alberta corporations have already set net-zero by 2050 targets including TransAlta and Capital Power.
  • Make sure to mention if you are a customer.

Sample Letter:

Dear ENMAX Board of Directors and CEO,

As a Calgary Citizen, ENMAX customer and member of the Calgary Climate Hub, I am writing to ask ENMAX to declare that it will set a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2050 and set interim targets of:

- 50 percent of 2016 GHG levels by 2030.

- 90 percent of 2016 GHG by 2040.

- 100 percent of 2016 GHG by 2050.

Transitioning to net-zero is a part of the path to a healthy and vibrant future. Our city is recognized around the world for being an energy hub. Working towards a net-zero target will help spur innovation and create new business opportunities that will help Calgary thrive in the future: economically, socially and environmentally. If ENMAX doesn't move towards net-zero, I am also concerned that increasing carbon taxes will result in high future costs for ratepayers and our city.

ENMAX has already moved in the right direction by eliminating coal generation, doubling solar capacity and generating 14 percent of electricity through wind power. We ask you, the leadership of ENMAX, to take the next step to commit to move to net-zero by 2050 and realize the economic, environmental and social advantages that this long-term commitment will mean for all Calgarians.

Signed,

Background

In Calgary, we know that electricity and fuels for transportation (gas & diesel) account for three-quarters of Calgary's carbon footprint from energy usage. Electricity makes up or 43 per cent of Calgary’s emissions, transport fuels, such as gas or diesel, make up 32 per cent, and natural gas makes up the remaining 25 per cent.

Source: City of Calgary: Climate Resilience Strategy, 2018.

Transportation can be made to run on electricity by shifting transport to public transit, electric vehicles, or many kinds of emerging e-mobility options such as e-bikes or re-scooters. Home heating can be electrified by using geothermal heat pumps and resistive heating. Cooking can be electrified by using induction or resistive stoves. Electrifying transportation, heating and cooking eliminates direct emissions in those activities, but unless electricity is also decarbonized, emissions will largely just be shifted into the electricity sector and not truly eliminated. To truly make these things zero emissions, electricity must be zero or net-zero emissions as well. Net-zero electricity can power a net-zero society.

Fortunately, renewables have had staggering cost declines over the last decade. Solar has come down in cost 90 per cent from 2010-2020 and wind has come down in cost 70 per cent over the same period. Additionally, climate policy is gaining momentum and policies such as the federal carbon levy or the clean fuel standard will make fossil fuels less competitive as electricity sources.

Because electricity is so key to decarbonizing society and renewables are having an economic renaissance, ENMAX, owned by the City of Calgary, has an opportunity to drive a huge amount of climate action by committing to make their electricity net-zero emitting.