• En 2021, les usines de combustibles fossiles du N.-B. ont provoqué une augmentation de 6 % des émissions responsables du réchauffement planétaires issues du Nouveau-Brunswick

    Territoire ancestral des Abénaquis/Fredericton— Les émissions de gaz à effet de serre du Nouveau-Brunswick ont augmenté de 700 000 tonnes entre 2020 et 2021, ce qui représente une augmentation de 6 % en raison d’une hausse des émissions du secteur de l’électricité selon le Rapport d'inventaire national 1990-2021 d’Environnement et Changement climatique Canada 2023 : Sources et puits de gaz à effet de serre au Canada.

    Au Nouveau-Brunswick, les gaz à effet de serre à l’origine du réchauffement planétaire ont passé de 11,2 millions de tonnes en 2020 à 11,9 millions de tonnes en 2021, la dernière année pour laquelle des données sont disponibles. Au vu d’une ventilation détaillée des émissions pour tous les secteurs économiques de la province, on constate que l’augmentation des émissions provient exclusivement du secteur de l’électricité

    « Il faut mettre fin à la combustion des combustibles fossiles pour produire de l’électricité », déclare Louise Comeau, co-directrice exécutive du Conseil de conservation. « Faire de l’argent à partir de sources d’énergie à l’origine du réchauffement planétaire n’est pas un processus éthique. Cette façon de faire augmente nos dettes en matière de carbone et met notre avenir en danger. Il est maintenant temps d’abandonner les usines aux combustibles fossiles pour préconiser les énergies renouvelables, l’entreposage, les interconnexions et l’efficacité énergétique. »

    L’augmentation de 700 000 tonnes affichée par le secteur de l’électricité du Nouveau-Brunswick représente une hausse annuelle de 26 %, soit de 2,7 millions de tonnes en 2020 à 3,4 millions de tonnes en 2021. Cette hausse a été suscitée par des augmentations des émissions de la centrale de Coleson Cove (47 %, ou de 730 000 tonnes en 2020 à 1 070 000 tonnes en 2021), la centrale de Belledune (jusqu’à 22 %, ou de 1 140 000 tonnes à 1 390 000 tonnes) et la centrale de Bayside (jusqu’à 11 %, ou de 830 000 tonnes à 920 000 tonnes).

    La centrale de Point Lepreau a fonctionné la majorité de 2021, avec trois brèves coupures de courant en février, avril et novembre. La production d’énergie éolienne a chuté de 21 % à cause de fissures dans les fondations à Kent Hills. Ces coupures de courant augmentent la dépendance du Nouveau-Brunswick envers les usines aux combustibles fossiles ou les importations du Québec ou de la Nouvelle-Angleterre. En 2021, Énergie NB a aussi augmenté ses ventes par exportation, ce qui peut contribuer à une utilisation accrue des usines aux énergies fossiles.  Selon le rapport annuel de 2021-2022 d’Énergie NB, il y a eu une augmentation de 52 % des ventes par exportation (de 369 millions de dollars en 2020-2021 à 558 millions de dollars en 2021-2022), et une augmentation de la production de 35 % des gigawattheures (de 4 576 MWh en 2020-2021 à 6 175 GWh en 2021-2022). 

    Les augmentations des émissions au fil des ans sont préoccupantes même si les tendances à long terme sont encore à la baisse. Les émissions de gaz à effet de serre sont inférieures de 39 % par rapport à celles de 2005 et de 7 % par rapport à celles de 2019. Pour 2022, on s’attend à des tendances similaires à celles de 2021, ce qui indique l’importance de contrôler les émissions du secteur de l’électricité par des mesures comme un règlement fédéral sur l’électricité propre. 

    Comme la Journée de la Terre (22 avril) approche, le Conseil de conservation appelle à une stratégie d’électricité propre afin d’assurer au Nouveau-Brunswick un système d’électricité fiable, durable et abordable qui soit bien équilibré au niveau de l’efficacité énergétique, de l’entreposage et des énergies solaire, éolienne et hydro-électricité intraprovinciaux, et assorti de transmissions inter-régionales comme la boucle de l’Atlantique. 

    Pour obtenir une entrevue, veuillez communiquer avec :

     Jon MacNeill, directeur des Communications, Conseil de conservation du Nouveau-Brunswick, 506-238-3539 |jon.macneill@conservationcouncil.ca

  • NB Power fossil plants causing six per cent increase in planet-warming emissions from New Brunswick in 2021

    Traditional territory of the Wabanaki Peoples/Fredericton — New Brunswick’s greenhouse gas emissions increased 700,000 tonnes from 2020 to 2021, a six per cent increase, due to increased emissions in the electricity sector, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 2023 National Inventory Report 1990 – 2021: Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks in Canada.

    New Brunswick’s planet-warming greenhouse gases increased from 11.2 million tonnes in 2020 to 11.9 million tonnes in 2021, the latest year for which data is available. A detailed break out of emissions across all economic sectors in the province shows that the entire increase in emissions is from the electricity sector

    “Burning fossil fuels to generate electricity must end,” says Louise Comeau, co-executive director at the Conservation Council. “Making money off planet-warming energy sources is unethical. It increases our carbon tax liability and puts our future at risk. The time is now to switch off the fossil plants in favour of renewable energy, storage, interties and efficiency.”

    The 700,000-tonne increase from New Brunswick’s electricity sector represents an annual rise of 26 per cent, from 2.7 million tonnes in 2020 to 3.4 million tonnes in 2021. The increase was driven by increases in emissions at the Coleson Cove Generating Station (up 47 per cent, or 730,000 tonnes in 2020 to 1,070,000 in 2021), the Belledune Generating Station (up 22 per cent, or 1,140,000 tonnes to 1,390,000 tonnes), and the Bayside Generating Station (up 11 per cent, or 830,000 tonnes to 920,000 tonnes).

    The Point Lepreau Generating station was largely operational in 2021, with three short-term outages in February, April and November, leading to a 7 per cent decline in megawatt hours of power production.  Wind power production was down 21 per cent due to base cracks at Kent Hills. These outages increase reliance on New Brunswick’s fossil plants or on imports from Quebec or New England.  According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, in 2021 electricity production at Belledune was up 23 per cent (1440 GWh in 2021, compared to 1140 GWh in 2020), up 15 per cent at Bayside (1580 GWh in 2021, compared to 1380 GWh in 2020), and up 34 per cent at Coleson Cove (940 GWh in 2021, compared to 700 GWh in 2020). Greenhouse gas intensity increased to 290 grams/carbon dioxide/kWh from 230 grams/carbon dioxide/kWh in 2020.

    In 2021, NB Power also increased export sales which can contribute to increased use of the utility’s fossil fuel plants. NB Power’s 2021-2022 annual report shows a 52 per cent increase in export sales ($558 million in 2021-2022 from $369 million in 2020-2021), and a 35 per cent increase in gigawatt hours of production (6,175 GWh  in 2021-2022 from 4,576 GWh in 2020-2021). 

    Emissions increases year-over-year are a concern even if long-term trends are still downward. New Brunswick’s greenhouse gas emissions are down 39 per cent from 2005 and 7 per cent from 2019.  Similar trends to 2021 are expected for 2022, signalling the importance of controlling electricity sector emissions through actions like a federal clean electricity regulation. 

    As Earth Day (April 22) approaches, the Conservation Council calls for a clean electricity strategy that ensures New Brunswick has a reliable, sustainable and affordable electricity system with the right balance of in-province efficiency, wind, solar, hydro and storage, along with regional transmission interties like the Atlantic Loop.

    To arrange an interview, contact:

     Jon MacNeill, communications director, Conservation Council of New Brunswick, 506-238-3539 |jon.macneill@conservationcouncil.ca

  • Reliance on fossil fuels is dangerously short-sighted

    Commentary by Jim Emberger, Telegraph Journal, Dec. 16, 2020

    “Distant hypothetical targets are being set, and big speeches are being given. Yet, when it comes to the immediate action we need, we are still in a state of complete denial.”

    These are the recent words of young climate activist, Greta Thunberg, concerning progress toward dealing with the climate emergency. Unfortunately, she could be talking about NB Power’s recent release of its 25-year Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). While claiming to pay attention to the climate crisis, the utility’s plans belie those claims.

    First, NB Power plans to extend the life of the coal burning Belledune electricity generator, one of the province’s largest emitters of carbon dioxide, to 2041: more than 10 years past its federally mandated closure.

    To put this plan in context, progress reports submitted in preparation for next year’s climate summit show the gap between our actual greenhouse gas emissions and our stated targets continues to grow.

    Simultaneously, a number of new climate models show that we potentially could pass the 1.5 C “minimally safe” increase in global temperature later this decade, and pass the more dangerous 2 C increase in the early 2030s. This prediction is bolstered by the announcement that, according to NASA, last month was the hottest November on record. What’s more, 2020 is likely to be the hottest year on record, a fitting conclusion to what will likely also be the hottest decade.

    This should lead us to conclude that our future climate efforts must be even more rigorous. As the United Nations notes, the “world’s wealthy will need to reduce their carbon footprints,” which “will require swift and substantial lifestyle changes.”

    By extending the Belledune plant, we will continue to pump large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere well after we’ve passed the likely point of no return on climate chaos. NB Power alleges that it can cut emissions elsewhere, but its claims are based on questionable assumptions, and it is hard to imagine where it can cut at the scale necessary.

    For instance, emphasis is put on maintaining or increasing natural gas usage as a low carbon emission alternative, ignoring the now-accepted science that leaking methane emissions along the entire gas supply chain makes gas no better for the climate than coal.

    The IRP also mentions that another low-carbon plan is to develop small modular nuclear reactors, a technology that currently exists only on paper. It faces hurdles of technology, safety, cost and procuring investment. But the salient point is that it will not likely be available until 2030, and later before it can be widely dispersed.

    To sum up, as we face an already serious climate crisis that is due to significantly worsen in the next decade, NB Power’s plans are to continue to use a high-polluting, out-of-date technology for 20 years, and invest in a new technology that won’t become useful until after much climate damage has already occurred.

    The IRP notes that proven, cheaper alternatives exist: namely renewable energy from sun and wind. Why aren’t they being pursued as the main pillars of our energy future?

    The excuse that they are too intermittent becomes less viable with every passing day, as advances in energy storage are being made at a dizzying pace.

    What’s more, our province has a unique opportunity to take part in the “Atlantic Loop,” a project that would bring stable and low or even no-carbon energy from hydro dams in Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. In concert with renewables, our energy supply could be ample, stable and potentially exportable to New England.

    Though questionable, NB Power’s plans are not as off-base as the advice offered in a recent op-ed (“Oil and gas are a missed opportunity for Atlantic Canada,” Dec. 7) penned by researchers with the Canadian Energy Centre, an Alberta government corporation which was created to promote the interests and reputation of the provincial oil and gas sector.

    Its authors claim that now is the time for New Brunswick to start a natural gas and oil industry. This is strange advice coming from Alberta, a province where the oil and gas industry has plummeted – even before the pandemic – with huge losses of investment, industry bankruptcies, decimated tax and royalty payments, the loss of many thousands of jobs and a multi-billion dollar tab for oil and gas industry cleanup.

    They assume that we will continue to use fossil fuels, despite the climate crisis. Therefore, they argue, it makes more economic sense to produce our own rather than buy from elsewhere. This argument that we ought to knowingly contribute to the looming climate crisis is bizarre, particularly given that so many scientists argue that any new fossil fuel project is an act of economic and environmental self-harm.

    As people finally pay attention to scientists about COVID-19, one can only hope that this enlightened attitude will spill over to the much larger, and more dangerous, climate crisis.

    The time for rhetoric about long-range goals and inadequate plans to achieve them is long past. As Greta Thunberg’s clear-headed logic indicates, we need reality-based action, and we need it now.

    –Jim Emberger is the Spokesperson for the New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance.

  • SSNB (StopSprayingNB) Petition Submission/ Présentation de la pétition SSNB

    SSNB needs your support us as we step forward to let our voices be heard. Join us at the Legislature for the submission of the SSNB petition signatories. Bring your loud voice and all the signs, noisemakers and conviction you can muster.
 © 2018 NBEN / RENB