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Good afternoon, and welcome to Globe Climate, a newsletter about climate change, environment and resources in Canada.
The plight of a baby orca trapped in a remote B.C. lagoon has captivated Canadians. The hope is that it will find a way back to its family of Bigg’s killer whales. The calf has been in the deeps and reluctant to leave since its mother died three weeks ago in the lagoon, which is 450 kilometres northwest of Victoria.
After the disappointment of last week’s unsuccessful attempt, officials said other capture and transport methods are being considered. “This is a very smart animal and we’re going to have to look at other options,” said Paul Cottrell, Fisheries Department marine mammal co-ordinator.
We all have our fingers crossed for good news this week.
Now, let’s catch you up on other news.
A rescue team has stood down after an attempt yesterday was unsuccessful in capturing the two-year-old orca in a lagoon near Zeballos, B.C., on Saturday, April 13, 2024.CHAD HIPOLITO/The Canadian Press
Noteworthy reporting this week:
- Oil and gas: New LNG entrant plots rail shipments in B.C., avoiding need for long pipeline
- Data: B.C. container terminal operator calls its emissions data a ‘trade secret’
- Stampede Elm: Calgary’s Stampede Elm witnessed city’s transformation from cowtown to boomtown over 125 years
- Land: B.C. formally recognizes Haida Nation’s Aboriginal title to Haida Gwaii
- Carbon tax: Trudeau slams NDP for distancing itself from carbon pricing, concedes it’s an ‘unpopular position’
- Wildfires: Volunteer firefighters’ tax credit to double, as Ottawa prepares for catastrophic wildfire season
- Emissions: Alberta fails to move needle on emissions reduction plan
- Analysis: Ottawa rebuffs calls for last-minute fixes to green subsidies as Indigenous leaders sound alarm
- Drought: African hunger rises as drought and war trigger soaring food prices
- Opinion from The Narwhal: An epoch fail: Geologists strike down Anthropocene proposal, despite Ontario lake evidence
A deeper dive
Hungry like the fox
This week’s deep dive features photography by Lisi Niesner, reporting by Gloria Dickie and Lisi Niesner, about wildlife dilemmas that will be increasingly common in a warming world.
To help an iconic Scandinavian animal avoid extinction, Norwegian scientists are breeding them in captivity. But in the wilds of southern Norway, newly freed Arctic foxes sometimes struggle to find enough to eat, as the effects of climate change make their traditional rodent prey more scarce.
To get them through the long winter, scientists are keeping more than 30 feeding stations across the alpine wilderness stocked with dog kibble – a rare and controversial step in conservation circles.
“If the food is not there for them, what do you do?” said conservation biologist Craig Jackson of the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, which is managing the fox program on behalf of the country’s environment agency.
That question will become increasingly urgent as climate change and habitat loss push thousands of the world’s species to the edge of survival, disrupting food chains and leaving some to starve.
Most instances of feeding animals to ensure a population survives – known as “supplementary feeding” – are temporary. But Norway has been feeding the foxes for nearly 20 years, at an annual cost of around 3.1-million kroner ($391,000) and it has no plans to stop any time soon.
At the current growth rate, scientists said it could take another 25 years to reach the goal of 2,000 Arctic foxes running free through Scandinavia – provided the animals’ bellies are kept full.
A white Arctic fox suns itself inside an enclosure at the Arctic Fox Captive Breeding Station run by the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research near Oppdal, Norway, on March 21, 2023.Lisi Niesner/Reuters
Researchers take a photo with a thermographic camera of a white Arctic fox pup during a medical checkup at the Arctic Fox Captive Breeding Station run by NINA on July 25, 2023.Lisi Niesner/Reuters
Conservation biologists Craig Jackson, Kristine Ulvund and Kang Nian Jap and veterinarian Marianne W. Furnes trap Arctic fox pups to perform a medical checkup at the Arctic Fox Captive Breeding Station on July 26, 2023.Lisi Niesner/Reuters
What else you missed
- Swiss women win landmark climate case at Europe’s top human-rights court
- Canadian energy producers say they are prepared for 2024 drought, wildfire risks
- First 2024 Canada carbon rebates to be deposited today for some Canadians
- With B.C. groundwater usage not fully tracked, experts worry as drought looms
- Japan to collaborate with U.S. on cutting floating offshore wind costs
- Oil and gas companies must pay more to drill on public lands under new Biden administration rule
- U.S. sets first standard to curb ‘forever chemicals’ from drinking water
- Drought, heat raise risk of repeat of last summer’s record-breaking wildfires
- B.C. building code to allow mass timber in buildings up to 18 storeys, up from 12
- As Alberta pivots to renewables, expect more conflicts between environmental values, experts say
Opinion and analysis
Adnan R. Khan: Plastics recycling has consequences for people and the planet – and it may just be a scam
Tanya Talaga: Can Hudson Bay and James Bay territory be saved before it’s too late?
Grant Bishop: How to tactically retreat on the carbon tax
Michael Zwaagstra: School boards missed a chance to make the eclipse a teachable moment
Editorial board: A critical push to speed up mine approvals
John Ibbitson: The carbon tax is almost dead, and NDP leaders are helping to kill it
Kelly Cryderman: Justin Trudeau owes the premiers a meeting
Gwynne Dyer: We are ignoring potentially valuable climate-change technologies
Green Investing
Canadian banks caught in ESG backlash from U.S. state officials
Two Canadian banks are in the crosshairs of an anti-ESG U.S. state treasurer, who has boycotted one for a purported stand against fossil fuels and given another a pass for loosening a policy on coal lending.
West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore placed Toronto-Dominion Bank and three other banks on its restricted financial institutions list on Monday. As a result, they will not be allowed to provide banking services to the state.
- Emissions standards group roiled by controversy after opening door to offsets
- RBC fields shareholder questions on climate and Indigenous rights at annual meeting
- Huge debt costs mean climate spending could make emerging nations insolvent, report says
- Wind, solar operators urged to invest now to protect against extreme weather risks
- Europe stands firm against U.S.-driven ESG backlash
Making waves
Do you know an engaged individual? Someone who represents the real engines pursuing change in the country? Email us at GlobeClimate@globeandmail.com to tell us about them.
Photo of the week
With the moon crossing directly in front of the sun during eclipse totality, the corona shines bright over Lamoureux Park in Cornwall, Ont. on April 8, 2024.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Guides and Explainers
- Want to learn to invest sustainably? We have a class for that: Green Investing 101 newsletter course for the climate-conscious investor. Not sure you need help? Take our quiz to challenge your knowledge.
- We’ve rounded up our reporters’ content to help you learn about what a carbon tax is, what happened at COP28 and just generally how Canada will change because of climate change.
- We have ways to make your travelling more sustainable and if you like to read, here are books to help the environmentalist in you grow, as well as a downloadable e-book of Micro Skills - Little Steps to Big Change.
Catch up on Globe Climate
- We are all part of the eclipse cosmic community
- What do we lose when we lose winter?
- How to get ready for the total solar eclipse on April 8
- Alberta’s drought is testing the limits of its water-licensing regime
We want to hear from you. Email us: GlobeClimate@globeandmail.com. Do you know someone who needs this newsletter? Send them to our Newsletters page.
Sierra Bein