The Energy Transition Will Happen With or Without Your Municipality — Lead It

The low-carbon energy transition isn't a future possibility — it's already underway, and the communities that shape it now will capture the economic benefits. The ones that wait will absorb the costs decided by others.

Canadians want climate action but not at the expense of affordability and reliability. Energy security and climate action must work together. Rising geopolitical instability — Russia's invasion of Ukraine, U.S. tariff threats — is exposing how exposed Canada's energy system really is. History shows the communities and countries that acted early on efficiency and renewable energy became exporters of that expertise. The ones that didn't became dependent on decisions made elsewhere. Municipalities have more control over this outcome than most realize.

The pattern is already established

After the 1970s oil crisis, Iceland moved to geothermal and now gets ~90% of its energy from renewables. Denmark bet on wind and now supplies turbines worldwide. Both built export industries out of an early, local decision. The difference wasn't federal policy alone. It was local participation.

Canada went the other way — built out the oil sands, became a top crude exporter, and is now among the least energy-efficient economies in the world (Sweden's is twice as efficient; we use a third more energy per home for heating).

The stakes are rising again, right now

Distant geopolitical conflicts – from Ukraine to the Strait of Hormuz — are being felt at the meter and pump at home. Federal and provincial investments in fossil gas and nuclear power are good for the industry but will increase prices for Canadians to heat their home and power their devices. Energy security, for the 21^st century Canadian consumer, is not found in the oil sands but rather in efficiency and renewable energy.

Where municipalities hold the leverage

The provincial and federal governments set a big policy frame. Unfortunately, they are looking to the past and investing in 20^th century energy solutions. But many of the levers that move the needle for a more sustainable future sit closer to home:

1. Building efficiency. Building performance is significantly facilitated by the development process and retrofit programs. Canada uses a third more energy per dwelling for heating than Sweden — a gap that can be narrowed at the building and neighbourhood level.
2. Transportation. Local land use, transit investment, and infrastructure decisions shape how much energy a community burns just getting around. This is one of the biggest levers municipalities control directly.
3. Distributed energy. The rapid growth of rooftop solar, local grids, and other distributed technologies means energy generation is no longer a purely provincial or national concern — it's increasingly built and managed street by street.
4. Local energy planning. As distributed technology scales, planning for it becomes a municipal responsibility by default. Communities that plan proactively shape how this growth happens; communities that don't will have it happen to them.

Since fossil fuels still supply 80% of national demand, action on any of these fronts cuts emissions and housing costs at the same time — giving municipalities a valuable two-for-one case for acting now.

The bottom line: This transition is happening regardless. The only open question is whether your municipality writes the plan or inherits someone else's. The future of global is local. Lead it.