September 2025
Re: “Clean energy still the future” (Butts, Nicholson & Smith, Hamilton Spectator, 2 August): Maybe it’s just me, but I noticed this column contains a lot of future, and maybe unrealistic, projections that may or may not be grounded in any reasonable logic. The authors repeatedly make comments of target levels that have been set, but not achieved, and other targets that are “”on track” to be met, but have yet to be conclusively shown to be attainable.
The authors have cited the European Union’s plans to adjust their emissions target of “90 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.” According to Liberal Senator Rosa Galvez, only two nations have already achieved net net-zero emission and now claim to be carbon negative: the Republic of Suriname and the Kingdom of Bhutan. Yeah, I’ve never heard of those countries either.
Suriname is the smallest country in South America, with approximately 90% covered buy a rainforest and having a population of around 612,985 inhabitants, and Bhutan is a country in the Eastern Himalayas, having a population of over 727,000.
One of the most misleading, and perhaps denialistic, statements is “…80 percent of Canada’s electricity is currently emissions-free….” This statement is correct, but it’s due to nuclear and natural gas energy generation, something the authors fail to note. Perhaps it’s a deliberate omission, perhaps not, but without this context, it leaves the impression that this was achieved through windmills and solar panels.
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The original column that inspired my column.
Sources: List of Countries with Net-Zero Commitments and Climate Accountability Legislation | Senator Rosa Galvez, Suriname – Wikipedia, Bhutan – Wikipedia.
