Canada's Energy Future report and net-zero

December 16, 2021

The Canada Energy Regulator (CER)’s next Canada's Energy Future report will be expanding to include modelling consistent with Canada’s commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. This analysis will cover all energy commodities and reflect a global context in which the world achieves its Paris Accord goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

On December 16th, the CER received a letter from the Minister of Natural Resources [PDF 275 KB] requesting that we undertake this scenario analysis.  We welcome the clarity the Minister’s request provides as we continue to evolve our energy information products to meet the changing needs of Canadians.

We are proud of the work we do to support the conversations around the future of energy use and welcome the opportunity to add to an essential and growing body of knowledge to help inform decisions as Canada works towards achieving net-zero by 2050.

The CER’s Energy Futures analysis has evolved significantly to reflect the dynamic policy environment. This evolution has included the introduction of the Evolving Policies Scenario as the report’s central scenario, and analysis in the 2020 Energy Future report of key issues related to the net-zero transition in Canada's remote and northern communities, oil sands, and passenger vehicle market. This year's report also included results from the CER's new hydrogen model and in-depth net-zero modelling of Canada's electricity sector in six different scenarios. As a result, the CER is now prepared to take the next step in its net-zero analysis to credibly model the whole Canadian energy system in a net-zero future.

We will have more details on the next Canada's Energy Future report in the months ahead as we continue to collaborate and engage with stakeholders and partners.

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