Environment, Forest Fires and Weather

[YEG imagineer]

Insurance companies will force a reaction to climate change especially in the absence of good government policy.

 

[policyenthusiast]

Insurance companies will force a reaction to climate change especially in the absence of good government policy.

The alternative being a widespread contraction of insurance protections is bleak to say the least.

 

[constance_chlore]

A report from realtor.com (the american NAR one) says that 1/4 American homes are at high risk of damage due to climate and weather impacts, and that this risk is fundamentally tipping the way insurance is working. More homeowners are finding themselves ineligible for insurance, and those that can get it are paying substantially higher premiums.

https://www.realtor.com/research/climate-risk-2025/

Not ideal.

This is, unfortunately, the future that a lot of Americans have chosen, and it's also the future that a lot of Albertans are cheering on. But every thousandth of a degree counts, so we need to keep trying.

EDIT: and, I have to add, it's unfortunate that the ones who are suffering the most from the impacts are not necessarily those who are most responsible for causing them...

 

[Gronk!]

Where's this wildfire smoke from coming from? It's been smoky since about yesterday afternoon.

 

[policyenthusiast]

Where's this wildfire smoke from coming from? It's been smoky since about yesterday afternoon.

https://airquality.alberta.ca/map/

Appears to be coming from Northern BC. Saskatchewan is also under an air quality advisory.

 

[policyenthusiast]

Some less-bad news on the environment front:

- GoC is putting $22M into Canadian battery innovation tech.
- Shell has created a new thermal management fluid that could advance 10-minute charging tech without overheating risks.
- Coal facilities in Australia are aging out, and instead of investing further into it, they're pivoting to 100% renewable energy.

 

[policyenthusiast]

GoC is launching a 30-year maturity "green bond", which will fund renewable Canadian capital projects. If the 7-year bond was any indication, this could put around 3 billion dollars into renewable projects.

I don't shop in fixed income (buying Brookfield Renewable Energy Corp for the renewable market exposure), but it's good to see the influx of private funding.

 

[policyenthusiast]

More good news:

• Brookfield's green energy "Global Transition Fund" hit an unexpected windfall from investors - and just became the world's largest private fund dedicated to the clean energy transition.
• Nissan Canada and Lithion Technologies Inc. have struck a multi-year agreement to recycle and recover critical elements from end-of-life EV batteries.
• US renewables investment is seeing some of the largest inflow of capital since the sustainability boom.
• The largest offshore wind project in the world (until one in the UK becomes operational) will start generating in Q1 of next year.

If I didn't know better, I would say things are looking up.

 

[policyenthusiast]

Windsor university building Canada’s first net-zero, multi-storey 3D-printed student residence​

The University of Windsor has started 3D printing what it says will be Canada’s first net-zero, multi-storey student residence — a project officials describe as a major step forward for sustainable construction and housing innovation.

Work is underway at 1025 California Ave., where a large-scale 3D printer is now forming the building’s concrete structure layer by layer. The project is backed by a $2-million investment from the federal government through FedDev Ontario, alongside support from industry partners.

 

[policyenthusiast]

Earlier today, the City of Edmonton release their 32 Climate Action Plan proposed items. Forgive my frustration, but 90% of this document is absolutely meaningless and the proposal has no teeth whatsoever.

https://hdp-ca-prod-app-edm-engaged...283/Draft_Action_Concepts_December_2025_1.pdf

I will say that improving vandalism resistance to bus shelters is an interesting proposal, but heating them in the winter will turn them into de facto homeless shelters. That is the unfortunate reality of the situation.

The entire draft also fails to provide a critical internal look at why the City's policies in renewable developments are grotesquely complicated and discouraging for homeowners. A thousand band-aid solutions to a crumbling problem which could be wished away with the stroke of a pen at the municipal level.

Will be speaking on this when it goes to council. I am pretty disappointed with what the department has pitched here.