Canada has set an ambitious goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. That means the country aims to eliminate all carbon dioxide emissions and actively remove all other remaining greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. While this plan may seem noble, it comes at a high cost. It has been estimated that the cost of reaching net zero is many times the inflation-adjusted cost of fighting world wars.
Canada currently emits around 21,000 kilograms of greenhouse gases per second, mainly from transport activities and industry. To reach net zero, the country would have to switch to alternative energy sources and drastically reduce emissions. The remaining CO2 emissions would have to be actively separated from the air.
However, there are concerns about what Net Zero will actually do. While it can mitigate the damage to the planet, the economic costs of achieving net zero could far outweigh the benefits. This raises the question of whether the plan is feasible with current technologies. William Nordhaus, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, has expressed skepticism about the feasibility of net-zero emissions with current technologies. He argues that eliminating emissions entirely relies on miraculous technological advances that haven’t yet happened.
The net zero plan has been approved by the Canadian federal government, but there are doubts about its practical feasibility. Reaching net zero will require significant investment in new technology and infrastructure. Whether the benefits of reaching net zero outweigh the costs to Canada and the planet remains to be seen.
