Walpole Island clean energy advocate to address climate conference
As Canada further electrifies to meet net-zero targets, Indigenous communities need to be a focus, says James Jenkins.
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As Canada further electrifies to meet net-zero targets, Indigenous communities need to be a focus, says James Jenkins.
“We’re (Canada) looking at projected demand possibly increasing by three times for electrical generation to meet net-zero targets in 2050,” said the Walpole Island member and executive director of national non-profit Indigenous Clean Energy.
“In order to meet that, it only makes sense that we’re looking at the demand side.”
Jenkins, a former Walpole Island chief executive, is speaking at this year’s Building Momentum Toward Net Zero conference, presented by the Canadian Climate Institute and the Net-Zero Advisory Body.
Other speakers include Corinne Le Quéré, who chairs France’s High Council for Climate, Geoffrey R. Pyatt, the U.S. State Department’s assistant secretary for energy resources, and the CEOs of mining company Teck and the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
Last year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. Assistant Energy Secretary Andrew Light and the International Energy Agency’s Sara Moarif were speakers.
“We’re excited to be a partner,” Jenkins said. “It’s a high-profile conference.”
Details of the third annual virtual conference, Nov. 9, are available at climateinstitute.ca.
When it comes to addressing the demand side of electrification and energy efficiency, part of the focus should be Indigenous housing, Jenkins said.
Poorer energy efficiency exists in Indigenous homes and infrastructure in general, compared to non-Indigenous counterparts, he said.
“One of the things we find are houses that, due to poor efficiency, poor insulation, things like that, encounter problems like mould, moisture, and in many cases . . . buildings don’t last past their amortization period,” he said. “So there is a real economic concern” amid related housing and health concerns.
Indigenous Clean Energy is working with 16 communities, providing mentorship and subsidies to help them launch their own energy efficiency programs, he said, and is partnering with Climate Change Institute on that work.
Indigenous Clean Energy also advocates for continued Indigenous inclusion in electrical infrastructure expansion, he said, noting Indigenous organizations are collectively the third-largest owner of clean energy assets, after provinces and utilities.
Most are solar and wind projects — Walpole Island has ownership in three wind project, for example — with some biomass projects in the works, he said.
The organization has helped with education programs, and has a support network of more than 1,000 people, he said.
“It’s a space that Indigenous organizations have become leaders in, but the pace is set to accelerate dramatically . . . so that will be a challenge for our organization,” he said. “Because we want to make sure there’s the capacity within Indigenous organizations to participate in these opportunities . . . in partnerships that are equitable.”
Historically that hasn’t always been the case, he said, citing 20th-century investments in hydroelectricity and other energy systems.
“It differs from place to place, but often the story is one of dispossession for Indigenous communities,” he said. “So this does offer an opportunity to do things the right way.”
Indigenous Clean Energy, which runs primarily on government grants and philanthropic funding, also engages with policymakers internationally, in places such as Colombia and Ecuador, he said.
Clean energy projects tend to resonate with members of Indigenous communities “interested in their role as stewards of the land and being part of the solution when it comes to climate action,” Jenkins said, noting federal support has increased in recent years.
A high level of Indigenous participation in future projects is also important to avoid “roadblocks and resistance, which could be very challenging when it comes to trying to meet these targets in less than two decades,” he said.
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