British Columbia, Ottawa and Shell Canada are joining together to open a centre that will invest in low-carbon technologies.
Premier John Horgan says each of them will contribute seed money of $35 million to stimulate other investment from the private sector on technologies like carbon capture, the use of low-carbon hydrogen and battery technology.
The Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy is expected to be open by this fall, but a location for it has yet to be determined.
The impacts of climate change can be seen in record high temperatures and wildfires this summer. The new BC Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy will help put BC on the right track to fight climate change and drive innovation in clean energy technology. https://t.co/E6WZmOIKU9 pic.twitter.com/BK3DAPpoKt
— BC Government News (@BCGovNews) July 16, 2021
The goal of the centre is to attract a range of companies and partners to focus on B.C.-based clean-energy technology.
Shell Canada president Susannah Pierce says the company is accelerating plans to become a provider of net-zero emission energy products.
She says it is also working with sectors that are difficult to "decarbonize."
"Rising to meet the challenge of global climate change requires joint action from business and government to help scale up cleaner energy solutions," she says.
Horgan told a news conference Friday that the wildfire destruction in Lytton shows action is needed on climate change. A so-called heat dome pushed temperatures last month to a Canadian record in Lytton near 50 C on the day before the fire destroyed much of the village and a nearby First Nation.
Horgan said the objective for the centre is to focus on the future to drive down emissions.
"We have to change how we behave and that means making sure that we have energy systems in place to meet the needs of people, industry in our province and our country. And we need to do it in a way that's radically different from our past."
