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Overview

Between June and October 2023, the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) engaged with partners, stakeholders, and the public to discuss its approach to energy and climate change mitigation issues in the Northwest Territories (NWT) as it reviews the 2030 Energy Strategy (Strategy) and Climate Change Strategic Framework (Framework).

We were looking for:

• Your ideas for a lower carbon future.
• Your input on evolving energy systems in the NWT.
• Your thoughts on climate action and the NWT economy.
• Your suggestions on how to work better together to reach our climate and energy goals.

Have Your Say

The public was invited to download and read our Discussion Guide and have their say on the NWT's energy and climate future through October 12, 2023, in several ways.

• Online using the tools on this platform
  • Share your thoughts on our ideas board - and get inspiration from others.
  • Join the discussion forums on four different topics - leave your own comments or join open discussions.
  • Submit you or your organization's long-form response about what the NWT’s energy and climate future should look like, guided by the discussion paper - and have it shared publicly to encourage more conversation.
• By email
  • INF_Communications@gov.nt.ca
• By mail
  • Government of the Northwest Territories
    3^rd floor, Stuart M. Hodgson Building
    5009 49^th Street
    P.O. Box 1320
    Yellowknife, NT
    X1A 2L9

Background

The world has changed since the GNWT launched the Strategy and Framework in 2018 and the NWT needs to evolve alongside it to do its part in taking climate action and evolving our energy systems.

New energy and climate policy, Canada’s net-zero target for 2050 and increased volatility in energy prices are pushing governments and the private sector to be more ambitious in their energy and emissions goals and more innovative in their approaches to achieving these goals.

The increasing importance of environmental, social, and governance considerations in making these decisions, and the commitment to meaningfully partner with Indigenous governments and Indigenous organizations on energy issues is also creating new opportunities as we strive to achieve long-term energy security, environmental sustainability, and economic prosperity for the NWT.

That’s why it’s time to review our approach and find pathways to a lower-carbon future and secure, affordable and sustainable energy in the NWT.

The NWT context

Energy in the NWT today

In 2021, the NWT used approximately 20,020 terajoules of energy in total, mainly from electricity, heating, transportation, and industrial processes. Fossil fuels imported from the south represented about 85% of the total territorial energy supply.

The remaining 15% of territorial energy supply comes from local resources, including hydroelectricity, biomass, and renewable energy.

Between 2018 and 2022, the GNWT and its partners spent approximately $138 million to reduce emissions, ensure reliability of NWT energy systems, and stabilize energy costs.

Approximately 80% of that total investment came from federal funding sources, which helps avoid future increases in energy prices and the cost of living in NWT communities.

Climate targets in the NWT today

The NWT’s current emissions reduction target is 30% below 2005 levels by 2030.

Our climate is warming rapidly, with the NWT experiencing warming up to four times faster than the global average. Many factors must be considered when exploring potential low-carbon pathways for the NWT. The NWT is already facing significant economic challenges, including maturing diamond mines, an aging population, a need for economic diversification and declining private sector investment.

However, a shift to a lower carbon economy will require very significant capital investments in the NWT energy system, the transportation system and community buildings and housing.

Next Steps

A What We Heard Report summarizing feedback the GNWT received during the public engagement period can be found here: https://www.gov.nt.ca/sites/flagship/files/documents/our_energy_and_climate_future_in_a_changing_world_what_we_heard_report.pdf.