Alison Bailie

• The Pembina Institute

Canada’s six largest urban areas provide homes and jobs for almost 15 million people, nearly half of our population. Transporting these citizens to and from work, school, health care, shopping and other destinations consumes energy, which in turn contributes to environmental problems, in particular climate change. Fortunately, there are many opport...

Hydrogen is an energy carrier able to be produced from domestic, zero-carbon sources and consumed by zero-pollution devices. A transition to a hydrogen-based economy could therefore potentially respond to climate, air quality, and energy security concerns. In a hydrogen economy, both mobile and stationary energy needs could be met through the react...

To combat climate change, Premier Gordon Campbell has declared that British Columbia will cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 33% or more below current levels by 2020. In 2007, B.C.’s estimated greenhouse gas emissions are 71 million tonnes, and they are projected to rise. Meeting our goal of cutting today’s emissions by 33% or more by 2020 means w...

This paper presents a discussion of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory issues that have arisen during the development of state and local climate change mitigation plans (CCMPs). Recommendations for addressing these issues are provided. The authors will present inventory issues and recommendations based on CCMP work performed in several U.S. s...

The national process in Canada for greenhouse gas abatement selected contrasting models to estimate costs, providing a rare opportunity to assess the importance of methodological differences in cost estimates when other input assumptions are the same. MARKAL is a well-known optimization model of the energy-economy system; CIMS is a policy simulatio...

Cost estimates for reducing energy-related CO2 emissions vary with modeling assumptions and methods. Much debate has centered on the tendency for top-down models to suggest high costs and for bottom-up models to suggest low costs. This study incorporates behavioral parameters, derived from end-use equipment acquisition surveys, in a bottom-up simul...

"We've set the boundaries. Now tell us what can actually be conserved!" That was the job description facing the consultant hired to complete Phase II of BC Hydro's review of conservation potential (Synergetic Resources Corporation, 1994a, 1994b). In 1991, a Collaborative Committee of 13 "stakeholders representing 34 organizations" initiated Phase I...

In order to realize the promise of a hydrogen economy in this United States, it is essential to couple it with a simultaneous commitment to improve energy efficiency and increase the use of renewable energy. In this study, using detailed scenario analyses for the country as a whole and for urban areas, we found that a large-scale switch to hydrogen...