July 19, 2022, 9:30 a.m.
Public confidence in government decision-making for energy and climate: A crucial ingredient for emissions reductions success
Canada is at a pivotal moment on energy and climate: there is far greater consensus among the public, industry, governments and experts about the need to reduce emissions, and there are myriad opportunities for Canadian energy of all types in domestic and international markets. Much energy and climate progress has been made, but there is much to be done to move successfully from the ‘what’ to the ‘how’ of emissions reductions, including for renewable energies like photovoltaics. Drawing on research and engagement at the University of Ottawa’s Positive Energy program in recent years, this talk will highlight four key obstacles and challenges Canada needs to address to be successful in its emissions reductions efforts: getting infrastructure financed, permitted and built, and technology developed and deployed; ensuring energy is affordable and reliable; building consensus among the public and experts for Canada’s energy and climate future; fostering intergovernmental collaboration and navigating partisan polarization.
Monica Gattinger is Director of the Institute for Science, Society and Policy, Full Professor at the School of Political Studies and Founder/Chair of Positive Energy at the University of Ottawa. She is an award-winning researcher and highly sought-after speaker, adviser and media commentator in the energy and arts/cultural policy sectors. Her innovative research programme convenes business, government, Indigenous, civil society and academic leaders to address complex policy, regulatory and governance challenges. She has published widely in the energy and arts/cultural policy fields, with a focus on strengthening decision-making in the context of fast-past technological change and markets, changing social values, and lower levels of trust in governments, industry, science and expertise.
Dr. Gattinger is Fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, board member of the Clean Resource Innovation Network, and serves on advisory committees for Énergir, the Institute on Governance, the National Research Council Canada, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, the Ontario Energy Board, the Ottawa Science Policy Network and the University of Calgary. She chairs the Editorial Board of the University of Ottawa Press and is a columnist for JWN Energy’s Daily Oil Bulletin. She received the 2020 Clean50 Award for her thought leadership in the energy sector. She holds a PhD in public policy from Carleton University.