Carbon Change: Canada on the Brink of Decarbonization - Paperback

by Dennis McConaghy (Author)

An investigation into the scale and costs of transitioning our energy systems to achieve net-zero emissions.

Canada and the rest of the developed world have committed to decarbonizing basic energy systems, but do this country's citizens and governments truly understand the sacrifices ahead and are we willing to accept those sacrifices in the name of reducing the impact of climate change? Will the rest of the developed world take on the necessary costs, and will Canada forge ahead with decarbonization, even if other countries do not?

Carbon Change explores this most visceral of public policy choices for Canada, with a deep dive into recent North American energy and climate policy, the enduring impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and political processes across the developed world with respect to dealing with climate change risks. It offers a dispassionate analysis of the scale and cost of trying to realize the aspiration of decarbonization. Dennis McConaghy asks if a more balanced and nuanced approach is possible to mitigate the effects of climate change, while still optimally using hydrocarbons to maximize global human welfare.

Author Biography

Dennis McConaghy is a Canadian energy executive who has nearly forty years of industry experience in infrastructure development and is the author of Dysfunction: Canada after Keystone XL and Breakdown: The Pipeline Debate and the Threat to Canada's Future, which won the Donner Prize. He lives in Calgary.