Monday, April 21, 2025
Policy POV: Barriers to effectively resolving environmental risks
Politicians are not the only people who too often seem to believe that tough regulations can solve all of our environmental challenges. It is often…
Colin Isaacs
Policy POV: The big-ticket green budget
The concept of a green economy, led by green budgets from governments, has been around for several decades but this year’s budget may be the…
Policy Perspectives: Why is Canada having such a tough time meeting emission reduction targets?
A recent report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) on global methane emissions helps clarify why Canada is having such a difficult time meeting its…
UN initiative to address climate confusion and misinformation
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres was quite candid in his address: “We are flirting with climate disaster. …
Legal action launched for climate change-related damage
What would you do if you were a member of a municipal council frustrated by the lack of government action on climate change and on…
Investing in 2023? Developing cleantech — here and abroad — is now big business
From precision farming to energy infrastructure, all indicators show that Canada is poised for future growth in clean technology. This was the focus of discussions…
Conceptualizing the circular economy in the built environment
Motivated by immediate environmental priorities such as climate change and marine plastic debris, the concept of Circular Economy (Circularity or CE) is often interpreted to…
Greening Municipalities: Let’s head to the polls to pipe up on environmental priorities
This Fall, municipal elections are being held in the provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Prince Edward Island. Voters will head to the polls…
Read Between the Lines: New rules to strengthen recycling and composting of plastics in Canada
New data indicates that moving toward a more circular economy for plastics in Canada could reduce carbon emissions by 1.8 megatonnes annually, generate billions of…
The Cost of Plastic Pollution: How economic instruments can address recovery and prevention
The problem of plastic pollution is gaining increasing attention from the media, from politicians, from scientists, from environmentalists, and, hopefully, from the public. However, unlike…
Resource Recovery: Contemplating the controversy over compostable plastic packaging systems
What happens to organic waste in Canada? With both aerobic and anaerobic digestion, the final product — compost — is sometimes sold to farms, plant…
Canadian perspective on LEEDing green building standards
The project lists of the commercial, institutional, and residential building sector contains more high profile environmental innovations than almost any other industry sector in Canada.…
Book Review: Sustainable Business Handbook
Guidance on what it takes to support a claim of being a “sustainable business” is widely available but not always comprehensive or clear. A new…
The Pathway to 2030: Contemplating the new course of climate action for Canadian communities
By Colin Isaacs At 270 pages Canada’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan: Canada’s Next Steps to Clean Air and a Strong Economy, released on March 29,…
Good Intentions or Greenwashing? Corporate climate responsibility versus environmental claims
As efforts to address climate change ramp up it is likely that efforts to scrutinize and criticize such efforts will also ramp up. The generic,…
Mandate letters contain more environmental initiatives than ever
By Colin Isaacs Mandate letters from the Canadian Prime Minister to Ministers provide a useful and rarely used window into the policy and program plans…