What is Carbon Management Canada?
Carbon Management Canada (CMC) is a not-for-profit corporation that is part of Government of Canada’s Network of Centres of Excellence program. CMC was incorporated in December 2009 and comprises a multi-disciplinary network of researchers at over 20 Canadian universities. Research carried out by CMC investigators focuses on developing the technologies and business and policy frameworks that will reduce carbon emissions in the upstream fossil fuel industry. Key to CMC’s operation is facilitating the rapid transfer of research results into practice. Funding for CMC comes through a blend of federal, provincial and industry support.
What is a Network of Centres of Excellence?
The federal Network of Centres of Excellence program was created to help move academic research into the commercialization stage so that Canadians could realize economic and social benefits. TheNCE program cultivates partnerships between academia, industry, government and not-for-profit organizations. Each NCE focuses on a specific area of research.
What is the purpose of Carbon Management Canada?
The ultimate goal of CMC is to help Canada reach its CO2 reduction target levels by 2050. To reach this goal, CMC funds research into the development of technologies and business and policy frameworks that will reduce carbon output in the upstream fossil fuel industry. We also support training of highly qualified personnel required to address these challenges and facilitate engagement between research and practitioner communities.
Why support the management of carbon?
There is a growing consensus among the world’s climate scientists that greenhouse gases produced through human activity are influencing climate change. Although there are many heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere, a key problem is too much carbon dioxide. Humans are contributing to the overload of carbon by burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.
In Canada, extracting and processing of fossil fuels accounts for a substantial amount of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. World demand for oil and gas will continue to grow. Therefore, we need to find more carbon efficient ways to extract and produce coal, oil and gas.
Why can’t we just switch to alternate sources of energy?
Reducing levels of atmospheric carbon will require a multi-pronged approach involving the use of alternative forms of energy as well as conserving and using fossil fuels more efficiently. But developing new sources of energy, and implementing the means to conserve and reduce energy, will require time.
Global demand for energy is expected to more than double by 2050 as developed and developing countries grow and seek to improve their standards of living. In Canada, 80% of our energy comes from fossil fuels. In 2006 in Canada alternative sources of energy such as solar, wind, hydro and nuclear account for just 33% of total energy use.
For the foreseeable future, we will continue to rely on fossil fuels for much of our energy needs.
Shouldn’t the resource industry fund carbon management research and development?
The oil and gas industry realizes that Canadians expect action in addressing greenhouse gas emissions and it is investing in research and development. But some of Canada’s best research minds work in university settings. By partnering with CMC research teams, companies can work with the country’s top scientists to develop cutting-edge solutions that can be commercialized in Canada and around the world. At CMC, we are working with a number of energy companies and are actively searching for more industry partners on our research projects.