A $91 billion asset manager dumps Exxon, Chevron on Climate: Norwegian life insurer Storebrand ASA has beefed up its climate policy, leading it to exit oil giants Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. and accelerate a full divestment from coal.

The move by the Oslo-listed company, which has about $91 billion under management, is another illustration of how investors are adjusting to the risks of climate change, putting pressure on fossil-fuel producers.

Storebrand has sold its holdings in Exxon and Chevron, chemicals giant BASF SE and miner Rio Tinto Group for their lobbying efforts against the Paris Agreement and climate regulation, it said in a statement. It also quit ConocoPhillips and Husky Energy Inc because of their investments in polluting oil sands.

A $91 billion asset manager dumps Exxon, Chevron on Climate: Norwegian life insurer Storebrand ASA has beefed up its climate policy, leading it to exit oil giants Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. and accelerate a full divestment from coal.The move by the Oslo-listed company, which has about $91 billion under management, is another illustration of how investors are adjusting to the risks of climate change, putting pressure on fossil-fuel producers.Storebrand has sold its holdings in Exxon and Chevron, chemicals giant BASF SE and miner Rio Tinto Group for their lobbying efforts against the Paris Agreement and climate regulation, it said in a statement. It also quit ConocoPhillips and Husky Energy Inc because of their investments in polluting oil sands.Read More

A provincial outlook for Canada’s economic recovery | Advisor’s Edge: B.C. was expected to experience less severe economic fallout than other provinces because it was in a better fiscal position heading into the Covid-19 pandemic, allowing it to provide large amounts of fiscal stimulus, according to the think tank’s economic outlook released on Monday.

Also, along with P.E.I. and Manitoba, lower per capita Covid-19 cases mean B.C. would likely suffer smaller economic declines.

The report forecasted a relatively modest contraction of 5.5% for B.C. in 2020, and an expansion of 6.7% in 2021.

A provincial outlook for Canada’s economic recovery | Advisor’s Edge: B.C. was expected to experience less severe economic fallout than other provinces because it was in a better fiscal position heading into the Covid-19 pandemic, allowing it to provide large amounts of fiscal stimulus, according to the think tank’s economic outlook released on Monday.Also, along with P.E.I. and Manitoba, lower per capita Covid-19 cases mean B.C. would likely suffer smaller economic declines.The report forecasted a relatively modest contraction of 5.5% for B.C. in 2020, and an expansion of 6.7% in 2021.Read More

Woman swims across reservoir that supplies her city’s water to protest coal mines that could put it at risk: In B.C., open pit mines have leached selenium into rivers in the Elk
Valley area for years. Selenium is a metal that is safe in water in low
levels, but in high levels can cause nausea or even neurological
problems from long-term exposure.

“The way the province rescinded the coal policy from the ’70s, they
did it with no public consultation and it happened really quietly,” she
said.

“I get that we need jobs and I get that we’re struggling, but I think
that even in a desperate time we need to think long term and not forget
that what we do today will impact 50 to 100 years down the road and
it’s not just about the next 10 to 20 years.”

Woman swims across reservoir that supplies her city’s water to protest coal mines that could put it at risk: In B.C., open pit mines have leached selenium into rivers in the Elk
Valley area for years. Selenium is a metal that is safe in water in low
levels, but in high levels can cause nausea or even neurological
problems from long-term exposure.“The way the province rescinded the coal policy from the ’70s, they
did it with no public consultation and it happened really quietly,” she
said.“I get that we need jobs and I get that we’re struggling, but I think
that even in a desperate time we need to think long term and not forget
that what we do today will impact 50 to 100 years down the road and
it’s not just about the next 10 to 20 years.”Read More

First grid-scale battery storage project in Alberta, Canada, comes online this month: The first grid-scale battery energy storage project in the Canadian province of Alberta is on-track to go into operation this month, while TransAlta, the company behind the project, has expedited plans to retire a coal plant citing “future market conditions”.

TransAlta Corporation, which generates and is engaged in wholesale marketing of electricity, is building the WindCharger 10MW / 20MWh lithium-ion battery storage project in the municipal district of Pincher Creek, through its subsidiary Western Sustainable Power Corporation.

The company is targeting 100% clean electricity by 2025 and just before the end of July announced that it is retiring its mothballed 368MW Sundance 3 coal power plant with immediate effect. In its financial results, TransAlta said that it had roughly equalled its performance for the first half of this year with last year’s results, driven in part by good performance of wind and solar production from its utility-scale projects, although was also somewhat reliant on favourable gross margins in the US coal segment.

First grid-scale battery storage project in Alberta, Canada, comes online this month: The first grid-scale battery energy storage project in the Canadian province of Alberta is on-track to go into operation this month, while TransAlta, the company behind the project, has expedited plans to retire a coal plant citing “future market conditions”.TransAlta Corporation, which generates and is engaged in wholesale marketing of electricity, is building the WindCharger 10MW / 20MWh lithium-ion battery storage project in the municipal district of Pincher Creek, through its subsidiary Western Sustainable Power Corporation.The company is targeting 100% clean electricity by 2025 and just before the end of July announced that it is retiring its mothballed 368MW Sundance 3 coal power plant with immediate effect. In its financial results, TransAlta said that it had roughly equalled its performance for the first half of this year with last year’s results, driven in part by good performance of wind and solar production from its utility-scale projects, although was also somewhat reliant on favourable gross margins in the US coal segment.Read More

The Restart Of Our Economy Needs To Be Green: Bill Morneau, former finance minster, was a supporter of the Trans Mountain Pipeline, but now that he has resigned, it puts the project in question, as it does the other pipelines too.

Chrystia Freeland, deputy prime minister has replaced him. Her view seem to be more aligned with Trudeau’s. In his pre-election promises, many of them included a greener economy, with a reduction in emissions and pollution.

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc met with the new Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal Premier Andrew Furey, on August 20, to discuss their oil and gas problems. Like Alberta, this sector makes up a fair portion of the GDP at 25.7%.

In Alberta, where oil gas and mining is around 27.4% of the provincial GDP, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has been getting comfortable with how the money and support has been flowing from the federal government. He has pipelines moving, and coal mines popping up along the eastern slopes of the Rockies.

The Restart Of Our Economy Needs To Be Green: Bill Morneau, former finance minster, was a supporter of the Trans Mountain Pipeline, but now that he has resigned, it puts the project in question, as it does the other pipelines too.Chrystia Freeland, deputy prime minister has replaced him. Her view seem to be more aligned with Trudeau’s. In his pre-election promises, many of them included a greener economy, with a reduction in emissions and pollution.Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc met with the new Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal Premier Andrew Furey, on August 20, to discuss their oil and gas problems. Like Alberta, this sector makes up a fair portion of the GDP at 25.7%.In Alberta, where oil gas and mining is around 27.4% of the provincial GDP, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has been getting comfortable with how the money and support has been flowing from the federal government. He has pipelines moving, and coal mines popping up along the eastern slopes of the Rockies.Read More