heat pumps

We are a long way from net-zero emission homes. So why is there less support for energy retrofits today?

Demand for federal cash to help defray the cost of home energy renovations spiked in recent months, forcing the government to close applications for the program almost a year earlier than expected.

Experts say the world is "past peak fossil power" but warn against uneven development of energy projects.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government pledged to overturn a decision from the Ontario Energy Board on the basis it would make the costs of new homes too expensive. But is that really true?

Visiting Alaska is an emissions-heavy prospect. An innovative program in Juneau has tourists ease that by helping buy heat pumps for locals.

Properly managed, offset programs involving heat pumps could be an extraordinary tool in fighting climate change.

Amirreza Mahmoudi is part of a research team which is focused on finding a retrofit solution for the heat pumps already being produced to make them frost-resistant. The most promising so far is an effort to integrate a membrane into a conventional heat pump to prevent frost.

Utility companies also train members to sell builders on the continued use of the planet-heating fossil fuel, including through trainings at conferences and webinars. “Stress the lifestyle benefits that come with a natural gas home,” one instructor said in a recording of a training session heard by the Guardian.

Climate change and the affordability crisis are two political mountains that, far from being at odds, must be climbed together.

“Given the current climate politically, I'm really surprised they didn't say: We're going to come through with more money for eco-energy retrofits,” Green Party Leader Elizabeth May told Canada’s National Observer in an interview at Parliament Hill.

If ambitious regulations are put in place, a net-zero electricity grid will be within reach by 2035, with massive benefits for human health.

While debate rages over carbon tax carveouts, other bold actions that could reduce planet-heating pollution get short shrift.

A bill to create more carbon price exemptions for farmers is in the home stretch in the Senate as the federal government faces sustained criticism for its decision to exempt home heating oil from the federal carbon pricing system.

A political consensus is emerging that climate policy is not compatible with a fair and prosperous economy, which puts Canada’s broader efforts to tackle the climate crisis at grave risk.

We won’t apologize for fighting for vulnerable Canadians across the country, including the many who live in rural Canada and Atlantic Canada.