FES Outstanding Graduate Student Paper Series
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Browsing FES Outstanding Graduate Student Paper Series by Subject "Canada"
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Open Access Diagnosing Doug Ford’s Durability: The Discourse and Political Economy of Right-Wing Populist Environmental Politics in Ontario(2022-04-30) Hillson, Peter; Winfield, MarkAs we approach the 2022 Ontario provincial election, political observers are apt to be somewhat confused. To most, it would seem that the current Ontario government, facing increasingly low popularity and widespread dissatisfaction with its management of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been ‘mugged by reality.’ However, as of yet polls show the Conservative Party of Ontario, (though with a dented reputation), very likely to retain power if an election were called today. This poses something of a theoretical dilemma. How do we make sense of an approach to governance that seems to have been discredited by reality, but shambles on relatively undisturbed in the discursive/political realm? With the goal of answering that question, this paper forwards a theory of the Ford government’s discursive strategy in general, and then examines how that style has persisted. It approaches this investigation using through discourse analysis, political-economic analysis, and a Gramscian analysis of hegemony. It proposes that the Ford government’s resilience can be attributed to the ability of its populistneoliberal and promethean-populist discourses to absorb and explain challenges accompanying COVID-19, changes in environmental politics, and labor market polarization in Ontario, as well as the inability of institutional discursive alternatives to provide a compelling counterhegemonic discourse that moves beyond the facilitative-managerial discourse the Ford government displaced in 2018. It concludes by suggesting that a revision of the ‘Green New Deal’ discourse that incorporates elements of deliberative democracy and a ‘green economic survivalism’ discourse might prove to be a more successful counter-hegemonic discourse.Item Open Access Modelling the diffusion of multiple demand-side low-carbon energy innovations within a 1.5°C scenario(2020) McMaster, Maria-Louise; Hoicka, ChristinaDecarbonizing the energy sector is a critical component in meeting global climate change mitigation commitments in a 1.5°C scenario. In order accelerate the transition to a low-carbon energy system, solutions will need to be deployed at all stages of the energy system, including the diffusion and adoption of innovations by energy users. If deployed at scale (achieving market shares above 15%), disruptive demand-side low-carbon innovations have the potential to accelerate a low-carbon energy transition through the destabilization of the established socio-technical regime. However, demand-side innovations tend to be overlooked in favor of supply-side energy solutions. Moreover, many of the innovations needed to achieve sizable emission reductions already exist, yet experience slow rates of diffusion. Diffusion of innovation studies that attempt to address these issues often assess a single technology or a small scope of factors in isolation, which limits the application of the research findings. This empirical study investigates the factors that influence the diffusion of 132 demand-side low-carbon energy innovations in the Canadian province of Ontario that have the potential to contribute to a low-carbon energy transition. A framework was developed for analyzing and evaluating low-carbon innovations based on their potential contribution to system change. Each innovation was coded in accordance with the model framework. This research found that there is currently limited potential for low-carbon demand-side energy innovations to create a system transformation through disruptive innovation in Ontario. This research also found that legitimacy is a necessary but not sufficient condition for influencing system disruption. More empirical studies that apply the model framework presented in this analysis are needed in order to effectively map the range and combination of factors that can facilitate a low-carbon energy transition in Canada through system disruption.Item Open Access What is Canada’s “Fair Share” of the Global Emissions Burden? An Examination of Fair and Proportional Emissions Reduction Targets(2020) McLeod, Christina; Estrin, DavidAccording to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global temperatures are warming by approximately 0.1-0.3°C per decade. As an estimated 1.1°C of global temperature warming above pre-industrial levels has already occurred, 1.5°C of global warming will likely occur sometime between 2030 and 2052. While international coordination is critically needed to allocate emissions amongst states, such a suggestion raises the contentious question of how to equitably distribute emissions amongst states. This paper uses several equity approaches to consider what might comprise Canada’s “fair” emissions reduction target. A literature review conducted by this author revealed two studies which allow for higher atmospheric concentrations that would not limit warming to 1.5°C as well as three studies which comply with 1.5°C pathways. Every “fair” target suggested by these five studies is significantly more ambitious than Canada’s present emissions reduction target. At minimum, these proposed targets call for Canada to nearly double its emissions reduction target, however, multiple targets call for Canada to reach net-zero emissions by 2030 and undertake mitigation efforts to further reduce emissions beyond its own borders. This paper concludes by highlighting several strategies to work towards setting and meeting fair emissions reduction targets in Canada.