With all the “calls to action,” events and petitions that are out there, things can get overwhelming sometimes. So we have started reaching out to supporters once a month with a single, achievable task that can help you make a difference. You can sign up for our mailing list to receive these advocacy check-ins here, and/or you can check this page monthly for updates!
| Your Advocacy Check-In for September, 2022 Here’s our suggestion for how you can participate this month |
| An Opportunity to Shape Saskatchewan’s Climate & Energy Strategy August 31, 2022  |
| SaskPower is hosting virtual consultations on how to power Saskatchewan between September 12th through September 15th. This presents an incredible opportunity for our community to engage and demand clean energy from our provincial crown and to democratically decide how we want our future to look. The sessions fill up quickly, so register today to push for a rapid shift to a renewable-only grid. Register Now! Some key points to champion when engaging in the workshops : The grid must be decarbonized no later than 2035: shifting fossil fuels out of transport and heating means a shift to electricity – meaning the electrical grid must be decarbonized immediately The need for major investments in solar and wind, amongst other renewables, to enable decarbonization: the way to decarbonize the grid to meet the necessity of the climate crisis is to do so with a massive rollout of renewables, in Saskatchewan that is solar and wind but that can also mean geothermal, hydroelectricity or biomass No to SMRs: unfortunately nuclear energy, including SMRs (small modular reactors), comes with major issues regarding price (10x as expensive as wind or solar), time (first units will not be operational until some time in the 2030s when we should be decarbonized completely) and it’s competition with renewables on the grid (no current designs can ramp up to match demand meaning it competes with solar and wind) which make it detrimental and a distraction to decarbonization goals Countries like Scotland demonstrate what’s possible – Scotland’s electrical grid in 2010 was similar to Saskatchewan’s current grid – dependent on coal and gas with about 25% supplied by renewables. Scotland set a goal in 2011 to generate the equivalent of 100% of electrical demand from renewables by 2020. Ten years later, in 2020, renewables provided 97.4% of Scotland’s electricity. We need to transform SaskPower with similar ambition. If Scotland can do it with complicated offshore wind in 10 years, surely we can do it with our world class wind and solar resources in less than 12 years by 2035 Substantial increase in interprovincial electricity trading and the need for a variety of storage options: An increased variety of stable storage options to facilitate a transition to a completely decarbonized grid and energy trading with our neighbours to maximize renewable use and promote grid stability. Increased energy efficiency for government, commercial, industrial and residential buildings  For more information and more detailed analysis of these key points please listen in on the following episodes of From The Ground Up (recorded by our members Glenn Wright and Mark Bigland-Pritchard) Episode 245: Clean Electricity and Saskatchewan’s Grid Pt. 1 Episode 246: Clean Electricity and Saskatchewan’s Grid Pt 2 Episode 233: Decarbonizing Canada with Stephen Thomas Episode 240: Stephen Thomas (again) Every action counts in the fight toward mitigating climate change and building better communities! Together we can create change! |