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Canadian provinces are required to regulate their power sectors using carbon pricing systems that meet national minimum stringency standards, which are set by the federal government. A diverse set of systems has emerged as a result. However, there has been limited assessment of how different pricing mechanisms impact the evolution of Canada's electricity system. To address this gap, we use an electricity system planning model called COPPER and a scenario-based approach to assess if, and to what extent, different policy regimes impact power sector greenhouse gas emissions and costs. Our results show that carbon pricing systems currently in place lead to significant carbon reductions over the long term, provided that free emissions allocations are reduced. However, the cost-optimal pathway for the power sector differs across provinces depending on the carbon pricing mechanism. Some provinces achieve least-cost emissions reductions by switching from high-carbon technologies to renewables, while others are better served by replacing high-carbon technologies with low-carbon fossil fuel alternatives. Further, provinces that implement cap-and-trade systems may affect the transitions of interconnected jurisdictions. Power sector climate policy design should reflect the heterogeneity of available assets, resources, and neighbouring approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have increased globally 10% in the last decade, but there is a large variation in emissions trajectories by country. Understanding the main drivers of recent changes in GHG emissions is important to guide effective climate action. Using a narrative scoping review of academic literature, we access 648 abstracts and review 30 studies to identify statistically significant independent variables that were associated with GHG emissions nationally and multinationally (i.e., in country groupings) during or overlapping the period 2010--2019. We describe the findings in terms of potential reasons for the positive or negative associations, outline the strength of associations relative to other variables within the same study, and compare the associations to findings in other studies. We find that population, energy consumption, and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita are the most common independent variables associated with increases in GHG emissions, whereas the square of GDP per capita and renewable energy production are associated withGHGreductions.We assign GHG drivers to seven categories: economic, energy, demographic, technology innovation, transportation, policy, and others.We conclude by discussing implications for future research and climate policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy-economy models play an increasingly important role in informing climate policy decisions, yet their results lack consistency in terms of projected greenhouse gas emissions and economic impacts. The paper employs a scoping review of the key improvements, knowledge gaps, and critiques of energy-economy models in the academic, public, private, and not-for-profit sectors in Canada over the past ten years. The three objectives are to (1) identify the key energy-economy modelling assessment criteria, (2) develop an inventory of energy-economy models assessed against the criteria in objective 1, and (3) discuss implications for modelling climate policies. Four criteria for assessing the ability of energy-economy models to evaluate climate policy impacts are identified: treatment of technology, microeconomic realism, macroeconomic realism, and policy representation. The assessment of 21 models against these criteria reveals similarities and differences across models. Models that share similarities in over-arching methodological approaches are also similar in the way they represent technologies, market heterogeneity, trade effects, different policy types, and energy equilibrium. Conversely, there are quite diverse approaches used in the representation of technological change, non-financial decision factors, financial or monetary features, and non-energy equilibrium. Model documentation does not often address how policy interaction is taken into account. Based on this assessment, implications for climate policy modelling and future research are discussed. • Climate policy projections vary across energy-economy models. • A scoping literature review compares energy-economy models in Canada's public and private sectors. • Four key criteria are identified for evaluating energy-economy models. • The review reveals similarities and differences across models. • Implications for climate policy modelling are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]