Manitoba’s Road to Resilience
R2R Reports
guiding principles
mb climate solutions
R2R Reports
Guiding Principles
mb climate solutions
Solutions to feed, shelter, and transport ourselves without fossil fuels exist…
…but Manitobans need government support to implement these solutions
The need
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The bad news: Burning fossil fuels is causing global temperatures to rise, leading to an increased prevalence of extreme weather events and poor air quality.
The good news: Solutions to help Manitobans meet their essential needs without fossil fuels exist, and they’ve already been documented in the Road to Resilience report series. All we need now is government support to help implement them!
Other disturbances (food shortages, climate migration, global conflicts) are exacerbated by climate change. The consequences of these disturbances may first be felt elsewhere, but we will feel them here due to their impacts on the global economy, supply chain, and availability and cost of obtaining financial credit. As long as we are dependent upon imported food and global supply chains for energy and essential goods, we are at risk. We are best off if we can provide for our essential needs ourselves.
Most governments are mainly concerned with being re-elected. Under the pretext of being “practical”, they have chosen not to publicly discuss the urgency and scale of work required to adequately address the climate crisis. It is up to civil society (the community) to think at this level and to show the way (or at least a way). We can “think the unthinkable.”
The objective of of the Road to Resilience is to provide recommendations to decarbonize Manitoba – zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
As we build that pathway we will be building our local resilience. Resilience means providing for our essential needs ourselves without fossil fuel.
To achieve true and adequate resilience, these are Manitoba’s essential objectives:
Food
Shelter
Transportation
Renewable energy will be a big part of building that resilience:
Electricity
Develop and use our electricity resource effectively, efficiently, and affordably to meet those other three objectives
Solutions for Manitoba
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Think deep energy retrofits, geothermal, solar power, and battery storage systems while making energy more affordable and improving air quality
Coordination & Finance
| Recommendation | Implementation |
| 1.1 – The Government of Manitoba establish a goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions from energy use by 2050 and make public the guiding principles they will use to develop and prioritize climate actions. | Government of Manitoba |
| 1.2 – The Government of Manitoba create a Climate Emergency Secretariat with central coordination and oversight of all climate actions. | Government of Manitoba |
| 1.3 – Plan and deliver the training needed to support all of the climate actions. | Government of Manitoba |
| 1.4 – Return the carbon tax from the federal government to the government of Manitoba and ensure this revenue is used to help Manitobans reduce their GHG emissions. | Government of Manitoba |
| 1.5 – Rebate a portion of Carbon Tax revenue to ensure the lowest 40 percent of households by income do not experience a net loss. | Government of Manitoba |
| 1.6 – Make Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) available to finance loans for climate action programs. | Government of Manitoba |
| 1.7 – Change legislation and revenue sources to make Efficiency Manitoba’s mandate to ”reduce Manitoba’s greenhouse gas emissions through the efficient use of electricity.” | Government of Manitoba |
| 1.8 – Enact legislation to create a Thermal Energy Services utility. | Government of Manitoba |
| 1.9 – Ensure that the public has access to reliable climate change education and that progress toward the climate goals is reported upon regularly and that failure to meet targets result in remedial action. | Government of Manitoba |
| 1.10 – Expand the scope of the carbon tax to include all sources of climate emissions in Manitoba. | Government of Manitoba |
| 1.11. – Direct Manitoba Hydro to plan for and implement at least 7,000 MW of wind generation within the province. | Government of Manitoba |
Residential & Commercial Buildings
| Recommendation | Implementation |
| 2.1 – That Manitoba adopt the highest tiers of the 2020 National Energy Code for Buildings and 2020 National Building Code achievable by the construction industry and execute a plan to achieve higher tiers as soon as possible. | Government of Manitoba |
| 2.2 – Prohibit the use of fossil gas in any new construction. | Government of Manitoba |
| 2.3 – Use the Energy Advisor resource to audit, inventory, and map the energy performance of as many buildings in the province as possible. | Climate Emergency Secretariat |
| 2.4 – Use the most economical combination of building envelope improvements, geothermal and on-site solar energy to retrofit each building to achieve the energy savings required to ensure that financial savings exceed the amount of the loan. | Climate Emergency Secretariat |
| 2.5 – Instruct the Thermal Energy Services utility to plan, model, design, implement, and maintain a district geothermal system throughout the province. | Climate Emergency Secretariat |
| 2.6 – Find ways to employ solar energy and waste heat recovery economically to reduce the need for grid power for water heating. | Climate Emergency Secretariat |
| 2.7 – Apply PACE loans on terms based on the combined life expectancy of the equipment involved, estimated at between 25-60 years. | Climate Emergency Secretariat |
Vehicle Transportation
A strategic approach to emissions reduction should always prioritize decreasing energy usage instead of simply focussing on switching from fossil energy to renewables. This means redesigning our transportation systems to increase the percentage of trips being made by walking, wheeling, cycling, rural and urban public transit, etc. An overall reduction in the use of personal vehicles will reduce the impacts of mining extraction for lithium and other minerals in Manitoba and globally, as well as have positive social and economic outcomes. Some of these solutions are presented in Road to Resilience Volume 1: The Pathway.
Vehicles will continue to play a role, especially in rural areas and for transport of goods, for delivery of medical and social services, and for people with accessibility challenges. The strategies outlined in this below are intended to show how we can reduce emissions from vehicle use through electrification, not to suggest that electric vehicles should automatically be people’s primary mode of transportation.
| Recommendation | Implementation |
| 3.1 – Set targets for market adoption of electric vehicles of all types. | Climate Emergency Secretariat |
| 3.2 – Enact Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) sales standards to penalize manufacturers who do not meet a schedule of fleet fuel efficiency standards. | Climate Emergency Secretariat |
| 3.3 – Work with the private sector and federal government to expand charging infrastructure until every community connected by road has enough charging stations. | Climate Emergency Secretariat |
| 3.4 – Use carbon tax revenue from the transportation sector to create a pool of capital that provides 0 percent interest financing to Manitobans wanting to purchase a fully electric vehicle. | Climate Emergency Secretariat |
| 3.5 – Lay the groundwork for a program to tax fossil fuel vehicles and use the revenue to finance electric vehicle purchases. | Climate Emergency Secretariat |
Audience
This pathway document is intended to define a set of recommendations for consideration by, and to stimulate a dialog among, concerned and informed Manitobans. The intention is that elected representatives, civil servants, and public policymakers will develop implementation plans to achieve the recommendations.
Public
The public needs to support the pathway & demand its implementation
Practitioners
Professionals & civil servants need to detail and implement the pathway
Policy Makers
Elected officials need to set policy and regulation to support the pathway
Manitoba’s Road to Resilience Series
Volume 1: The Pathway
Volume 2: Energy Solutions
VOLUME 3.1: Coordination & Finance (.PDF)
VOLUME 3.2: Residential and Commercial Buildings (.PDF)
VOLUME 3.3: Vehicle Transportation (.PDF)
Volume 4: Agriculture Solutions
Guiding Principles
Indigenous Leadership
Seek out and incorporate direction from elders and indigenous knowledge-keepers. Seek out and ensure free, prior, and informed consent. Comprising less than 5% of the world’s population, indigenous people protect 80% of global biodiversity.
A Just Transition for Workers
Provide a path for displaced workers in fossil-fuel dependent industries to find employment in alternative ways.
Holism
Recognize that our economy, society, natural environment, and culture are interrelated. Action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions must take a holistic approach.
Recognize the Right of Nature to Exist
Persist and maintain nature’s vital cycles and support human life on earth. Protecting, reclaiming, and expanding natural areas is key to carbon sequestration and fighting climate change. Biodiversity must be protected and enhanced.
Social Justice
Populations socially excluded by discrimination based on race, gender, ability, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, and age must be part of climate resilience so no one is left behind.