The Canadian government is funding five small-scale projects that focus on reducing carbon emissions, with economists hopeful that they will prove successful, thereby causing the private sector to inject more funding into larger initiatives.
In total, the government will spend more than $13 million to fund three projects in Alberta and two in the Northwest Territories, according to CBC News, with the funding provided by Canada's Low Carbon Economy Fund.
"We're not only protecting our environment, but we are also building a strong competitive economy that can thrive in a low-carbon future," Canadian environmental minister Julie Dabrusin said.
Since signing the Paris Agreement in 2015, Canada has adopted aggressive goals to reduce its heat-trapping emissions, the pollution that has contributed to an increase in global temperatures. Using 2005's total of 836 million tons as a baseline, the country has announced plans to reduce its emissions by 20% by 2026 and by 45-50% by 2035.
In 2023, the country emitted an estimated 765 million tons of heat-trapping gases, a 0.9% decrease from the previous year and an 8.5% reduction from 2005.
The Alberta-based funding will go toward a heat-recovery system that is expected to reduce the use of natural gas at a potato-processing plant, a system to increase boiling efficiency at a fertilizer plant, and a remote carbon capture and storage system near a manure facility.
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In the Northwest Territories, an indigenous-owned apartment building will receive funding for energy-efficient retrofitting, and cabins in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region will be equipped with solar installation kits.
Kent Fellows, a University of Calgary economist, told CBC that although none of the projects "are massive game changers," they all represent a step in the right direction and should all provide some level of benefit to the environment.
"This is public money that's going toward this with these subsidies, rather than private money," University of Calgary economist Kent Fellows told CBC. "That's maybe not quite as optimal, but it's still good to see that the initiatives are going ahead."
Ideally, he added, these projects will prove viable, which will prompt private-sector investors to jump in and fund larger-scale versions that could make an even bigger impact.
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"The more wins we get, if these do turn into wins, the more likely it is to sort of crowd in that type of investment," he said.
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