Climate expert, federal minister refute Premier Scott Moe's comments on net-zero emissions policy

Premier Scott Moe is once again going against the grain when it comes to federal government policies.

On Tuesday, he said Saskatchewan plans to chart its own path toward a clean electrical grid and will not meet Ottawa’s net-zero emissions target of 2035. Instead, SaskPower has its own plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 partly through renewable energy sources and possibly nuclear energy, Moe said.

“It’s about what’s affordable and it’s actually about what’s possible versus an ideological policy that may come from another level of government,” Moe told reporters at a petroleum conference this week.

The premier called the federal target “unrealistic” and said it could hike up power rates four times higher than current rates.

Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault said Moe’s estimate is inaccurate.

“Affordability is at the heart of our approach to creating a cleaner electricity grid. The numbers offered by the premier are entirely baseless and untrue,” Guilbeault said.

“Promoting fear about the impact on rates is irresponsible, especially given that the regulations haven’t even been developed.”

According to analysis from the Canadian Climate Institute (CCI), power rates could increase slightly or they could decrease. However, the organization is not predicting a tripling or quadrupling of rates due to the net-zero emissions transition.

CCI senior research director Jason Dion said key policy tools exist at the provincial level to help design electricity rates and ensure low-income households are not unfairly targeted.

“I think the ball is in the court of the province now in many ways to sort of step up and make their own vision for how they want this transition to proceed,” Dion said.

Under Ottawa’s clean electricity standards, coal will be phased out by 2030 before the country achieves net-zero emissions in 2035.

Both the Sask Party and NDP say the federal plan is problematic for a province that relies heavily on natural gas and coal.

“The Feds are going too far too fast and 2035 isn’t realistic for a jurisdiction like Saskatchewan,” said Aleana Young, NDP MLA and critic for power, energy and resources.

While the NDP agrees the federal target is too ambitious, Young said the premier’s promise of a clean grid by 2050 “lacks action.”

“They [the Sask Party] have been behind the ball on this for 15 years,” Young said.

“There are small things that we could be doing in the province right now that would reduce the demand for electricity [and] empower people.”

Young said increasing solar and wind power sources, while encouraging homeowners, businesses and farms to invest in power co-ops would better position Saskatchewan for the challenges ahead.

Based on research and studies, Dion said the 2035 goal is achievable.

“We have a lot of the technologies we need to get there. Business is clamoring for clean power [and] clean electricity is a priority for investment,” he said.

Earlier this week, Moe told reporters that Jan. 1, 2035 would be a very cold morning in Saskatoon after the federal government forces all natural gas plants to close.

However, the federal government has provisions in place to allow natural gas use past 2035.

“It’s not accurate to say we’d have to shut down all these plants in 2035. It’s about limited use, incentivizing smart use of those plants and they’d be allowed to be turned on in emergency circumstances,” Dion said.

“The reliability of the power grid is not under threat here.”

Guilbeault said Ottawa will work with governments to come up with clean energy plans that suit each individual province.

Moe said more information will be released in the coming weeks as for how his government plans to respond.