News

CERG works with KIU, Yekooche First Nation Development Corporation

According to UN estimates, there are 1.2 billion people without regular access to electricity grids. A Government of Canada (NRCAN, 2011) reports 251 remote communities that primarily rely on diesel, of which there are some 80 in British Columbia. Many of these communities are Indigenous. Diesel is expensive and has negative impacts on the environment and health.

You can find previous CERG talks on our

2023-5 Reports and News Stories

On Fossil Fuel Invesment Plan announcements by the Federal and Provincial Govts:
On Carbon Capture and Storage, Morgana Adby, CFAX 1070
On the MOU re: pipelines between the federal and Alberta Governments, CBC News Network, Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press, BC/Yukon Bureau, Nov. 27, 2025 Giacomo Buratti, Omni and CTV, and Hayden Wong, Fairchild TV, Nov. 25, 2025; Tracy Moran, National Post, Lillian Liang, Fairchild TV, Dec. 2
On the North Coast Transmission Line, Lynsey Duncombe, CBC鈥檚 the National, Nov. 18,
Quoted by Shannon Waters, The Narwhal, B.C.鈥檚鈥榚conomic engine鈥� is revving 鈥� but do we need the power?, Nov. 18,
Featured in CBC (Gloria Mackeranko interview with Premier David Eby), Nov. 15,
On the Coast with Gloria Mackeranko, Nov. 12,
Interviews with CBC (Radio West, Kelowna); On the Coast (Gloria Macarenko); and All Points West (Victoria, Jason D鈥橲ouza), on new Federal Govt.鈥檚 budget funding LNG projects in BC
Interview with Deep Singh, 600 AM, on the COP climate change talks and Canadian policy, Nov. 12;
Interview with Lilian Lang of Fairchild TV, on the prospects of new oil and gas pipelines, 10/14/25;
Interview with Scott Shantz, CKNW, on Alberta鈥檚 proposed new oil pipeline to northern BC, Oct. 2, 25,
Interview with Magnus Thyvold, CJSF, Sept. 17, on renewable energy economics
Interview with Mitchell Beer, Editor, Sept. 16 The Energy Mix, ;
BC Today, political e-mail news daily, Sept. 12, Hira quoted on lack of business case for LNG
Energetic City, Jacob Gendron, Sept. 11, LNG Canada phase two added to federal priority project list,
CNFR FM, LNG Canada Expansion: A Costly Investment for Canadians, CNFR FM website, Sabrina Spencer, Sept. 11,
Vancouver Sun, B.C. LNG, copper mine projects crack first pass of federal 'nation-building' list, Derrick Penner, Sept. 11,
Business in Vancouver, B.C. tapped for two of five 'nation-building' projects, Stefan Labb茅, ;
Quoted in The Globe and Mail, Sept. 2, 鈥淟ondon-based Crown LNG pitches export project for Newfoundland and Labrador,鈥� ;
On the CERG Scorecard, Interview with Keith Wiley, Radio Coop Kootenays, Sept. 15, , starts at 37 minutes; Fossil Fuels Scorecard mentioned in BC Today, political daily e-mail list read by political and business leaders, Sep. 3, 25; interview with Cormac McSweeney, City News, Ottawa, Sept. 2
Coverage of CERG event on Agri-voltaics, Oliver-Osoyoos news,
Interview with Shannon Waters of The Narwhal, on the proposed North Coast Transmission Line
Interview with Lilian Lang of Fairchild TV, on the prospects of new oil and gas pipelines, 10/14/25
Op-ed: Energy market trends should alarm Canadians about investments in the oil and gas sector, Vancouver Sun, Oct. 2, ,
Interview with Scott Shantz, CKNW, on Alberta鈥檚 proposed new oil pipeline to northern BC, Oct. 2, 25,
Interview with Magnus Thyvold, CJSF, Sept. 17, on renewable energy economics
Interview with Mitchell Beer, Editor, Sept. 16 The Energy Mix,
Quotes on the Canadian Govt.鈥檚 plans to invest in new LNG facilities
BC Today, political e-mail news daily, Sept. 12, Hira quoted on lack of business case for LNG
Energetic City, Jacob Gendron, Sept. 11, LNG Canada phase two added to federal priority project list,
CNFR FM, LNG Canada Expansion: A Costly Investment for Canadians, CNFR FM website, Sabrina Spencer, Sept. 11,
Vancouver Sun, B.C. LNG, copper mine projects crack first pass of federal 'nation-building' list, Derrick Penner, Sept. 11,
Business in Vancouver, B.C. tapped for two of five 'nation-building' projects, Stefan Labb茅,
Quotes on the Canadian Scorecard
Interview with Keith Wiley, Radio Coop Kootenays, Sept. 15, , starts at 37 minutes
Fossil Fuels Scorecard mentioned in BC Today, political daily e-mail list read by political and business leaders, Sep. 3, 25.
Op-ed Fossil Fuels are an economic drag, op-ed for National Observer, Sept. 11,
Quoted in The Globe and Mail, Sept. 2, 鈥淟ondon-based Crown LNG pitches export project for Newfoundland and Labrador,鈥�
The Canadian Scorecard on Fossil Fuels- with Cormac McSweeney, City News, Ottawa, Sept. 2
Discussion of whether it鈥檚 too late for Canada to respond to climate change (Suzuki鈥檚 comments), July 10, with Jason D鈥橲ouza and later with Gloria Macarenko of CBC, discussion with David Quigg of Sierra Club BC
The Conversation, Canada鈥檚 proposed east-west energy corridors should prioritize clean energy, with Andrew S. Wright and Sheldon Fernandes, July 13, 2025, (over 20,000 views)
The Hill Times, op-ed, Carney is walking a political tightrope on our energy future, July 10, 2025,
The Dialogue: Energy Advisor, July 11, 2025, Will LNG Canada Transform Global Fuels Markets? Found at:

June 2025- Andy Hira did the following interviews:
The Dialogue: Latin American Advisor, June 26, 2025, Would Accelerated Projects Spur Canada鈥檚 Economy? Found at:
Vancouver Sun, Alec Lazenby, Jun 24, 25, Premier Eby wants TMX at full capacity before discussion of another pipeline. Experts say it's close,
The Hill Times, Jeese Cnockaert on the contradictory policy of new Energy Min. Hodgson, to support fossil fuels and renewable energy at the same time,
CBC x-country check up, with Ian Hanomansing, on the potential for an East-West grid, , about 40 mins. into the programme
The Hill Times, Energy Minister Hodgson has experience with moving big projects, but some sector experts question plans to build up conventional energy alongside renewables, Jesse Cnokcaert, June 2,
May 2025- Omri Haiven recorded a podcast on . He also presented his research and experience in .
May 2025- Jae Mather spoke to CKNW about why is insufficient
May 2025- Andy Hira discussed the , with reference to Ontario projects, to the Financial Post
Apr. 2025- Andy Hira discussed on BC Today
Apr. 2025- Niels Vistrup presented , to CERG.
Mar. 2025- Andy Hira discussed with the CBC's Stephen Quinn
Mar. 2025- Andy Hira and Hossein Hagh Parast presented to CERG.
Mar. 2025- Andy Hira participated in around ways to preserve biodiversity in the province.
Mar. 2025- Andy Hira received leadership training from the .
Feb. 2025- Andy Hira presented the to the Atlantic Canada Climate Network
Feb. 2025- Leticia Yeboah presented her evaluation of the ability to improve gender equity by training marginalised women in solar panel development and maintenance in Ghana
Jan. 2025- Andy Hira and John Clague talked about how Canada can continue to move forward to address climate change despite US backsliding under Trump, to The Conversation
Dec. 2024- Andy Hira, Curie Park and Stephen Evans (Cambridge), Henrique Pacini (UNCTAD) and Padmakshi Rana (Kathmandu FabLab), published in Cleaner Waste Systems.
Nov. 2024- CERG members Andy Hira and Prasanna Krishnan published a new article on solar strategy, called in Solar Compass. It was also featured in and the Terrace Standard. The authors presented their research to CERG on Oct. 11, 2024.
Nov. 27, 2024- Andy Hira presented his theory of populism, including the rise of Trump, from his book, . You can find a .
Nov. 20-21, 2024- Andy Hira conducted interviews with CBC French journalist Anais Elboujdaini, on BC's provincial elections and policies towards climate change and with Camille Vernet of Radio Canada on .
Nov. 15, 2024- CERG presented Dr. Sajjan Pokhrel, UBC, who discussed his research comparing the benefits of geothermal vs. waste water vs. natural gas sources of heating.
Oct. 30, 2024- Andy Hira presented CERG research on nuclear power to the Surrey-based professional group, Climate Conversations
Oct. 29, 2024- Andy Hira presented a synopsis of his ESG book, , to the
Oct. 8, 2024- Andy Hira conducted an interview with Stephen Quinn of CBC Radio on the LNG industry in BC.
Sept. 27, 2024- CERG presented , who discussed her research on energy cooperatives in Canada.
Sept. 18, 2024- Andy Hira conducted an interview on Site C with Michelle Elliot of BC Today CBC Radio and TV.
Sept. 6, 2024- Andy Hira presented his forthcoming paper with Hossein Hagh Parast on reducing maritime emisisons ot the meeting in Seattle.
May 29, 2024- Andy Hira wrote an op-ed for explaining the political forces behind Canada's failure to meet its climate change goals.
April 19, 2024, CERG held a workshop and public forum, "," at SFU's downtown campus, featuring speakers from the UK, Nepal, the UN, and BC. Please click the link for the youtube video of the public forum.
April 5, 2024- Andy Hira presented the forthcoming CERG paper on Hydrogen: Energy Storage of the Future or Pie in the Sky? to the meeting in San Francisco.
Mar. 2024- Andy Hira and Samuel Thiak published "," Energy Research & Social Science, 109, 103417.
Mar. 14, 2024- Andy Hira and Donna Dove of 51社区黑料organized the first Careers in Energy and Environment event, featuring speakers from NRCAN, PSC of the Canadian Federal Govt., and Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (BC Government).
Complete CERG WORKING PAPER NO. 13: Lasqueti Island Case Analysis is now available. Visit our HOME PAGE and download a copy.
Jan. 2, 2024, CERG published its 12th working paper, on the future of nuclear power. It examines the issue from an economic and financial perspective, pointing to the uncertainty around the costs of nuclear waste as a major deterrant.
Dec. 10, 2023 CERG members Andy Hira and Ronaldo Au-Yeung published the chapter: , which examines the circular economy strategies of the US, the EU and China
Dec. 1, 2023, CERG members Andy Hira and Ronaldo Au-Yeung published the chapter: that discusses the different climate change strategies in the US, the EU, and China.
CERG held a forum on the future of nuclear power at SFU's downtown HC campus on Nov. 30, 2023. A lively discussion between the audience and invited experts: Andy Hira, Andrew Wright, Taco Niet, John Richards (SFU), and Allison MacFarlane and M.V. Ramana (UBC) ensued.
Andy Hira participated in a in Nepal in Oct. 2023. CERG is shifting its agenda to include the circular economy.
CERG hosts monthly talks about climate change and clean energy issues. Contact ahira@sfu.ca for details about upcoming talks. On Nov. 30th, there will be an open to the public in person forum on the future of nuclear power around a soon-to-be released cERG working paper. Then event will be from 1630-1830 in 51社区黑料HC 7000 and feature a roundtable with: Hira, and Drs. Taco Niet, Andrew Wright, Robert Anderson and John Richards (all SFU) and Allison Macfarlane and MV Ramana (UBC). On Dec. 1st, from 12:30-2pm, CERG will host a hybrid discussion about lessons in self-sufficiency. The discussion features a forthcoming working paper from CERG about Lasqueti Island systems as well as a presentation by Dr. Helen Heinz (U of Nottingham) about systems in the UK. The event will take place in 51社区黑料HC room tbd.
CERG released its 11th working paper, Site C: The Failure of Oversight about governance issues leading to major financial overruns in the large hydro project in BC. See the home page to download a copy.
Kyra Vergara released a new CERG paper, Towards feasible clean energy projects on Indigenous
island communities: On decolonizing clean energy production in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia on June 2, 2023. You can find it on our home page.
Andy Hira's new book, , has been released. It includes the problematic aspects of ESG reporting that informs efforts at climate change disinvestment and supporting a green and just transition. Andy gave talks about the book to U. of Victoria and Royal Roads U. in Spring 2024.
Andy Hira gave a talk at UBC on March 27, 2023: Moving from fossil fuels to a green economy: a review of recent research work by the 51社区黑料Clean Energy Research Group
Kyra Vergara, 51社区黑料Sociology student, gave a talk on Indigenous utility regulation on March 24, 2023 to the CERG group. It will be the subject of a forthcoming CERG working paper.
(Podcast with Professor Andy Hira)
Brief summary of CERG WORKING PAPER NO. 9: BC'S LNG PLAY: REASONABLE TRANSITION FUEL OR ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER?
Complete CERG WORKING PAPER NO. 9 AVAILABLE ON OUR HOME PAGE.

2022 Reports and News Stories

CERG WORKING PAPER NO. 8: IMPROVING THE PROMOTION OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE DEPLOYMENT IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: A COMPARATIVE CASE STUDY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA AND QU脡BEC IS AVAILABLE - VISIT OUR .

CERG laments the passing of former founding member, Anitra Paris. A passionate and intelligent advocate for clean energy, Anitra was at a young age already an important contributor to climate change policy in BC....She will be sorely missed by her friends and colleagues.