2016 was a year of change and new realities. 2016 was a year of change and new realities. It ended with national and international developments that will impact Alberta’s energy system for years to come. These include uncertainty looming around the US elections, the continued Alberta recession, the ramifications of pipeline approvals, and the new regulations addressing climate change. Such complex and difficult topics likely made for some contentious Christmas dinner conversa

Leaders from government, business, not-for-profit, academia and indigenous communities will gather in Calgary for a special two-day event on October 19 and 20. Their objective: to share proposed solutions for solving Alberta’s most complex and pressing energy challenges. This October event is an opportunity for the EFL to make its network of ideas even more inclusive and tested with as many diverse perspectives as possible before scaling up and communicating broadly through a

The May workshop of the Energy Futures Lab (EFL) Fellowship marked an important milestone, as the EFL pivots into a second phase of greater visibility and expanding impact. Deep, effective collaboration is easier said than done, requiring commonality of vision, shared value, and mutual trust. The pivot is partly a reflection of where we’re at in the Lab process and partly inspired by feedback received from EFL Fellows during a mid-point set of interviews conducted in April. I

“You learn more about a person in an hour of play than a year of conversation.” – Plato If you look at other human-made systems such as healthcare, agriculture, fishing, clothes manufacturing, mining, transportation, etc. you can see they’re all in transition. In the end, these transitions will rely on sparking the most difficult change of all: human behaviour. It will require a deeper systemic understanding. It was silent in the room and the windows were fogged. Twenty-two s

Our Energy Futures Lab Fellows, Convenors, Steering Committee, Advisory Council, Sponsoring Partners and The Natural Step team have deep roots in Alberta. So many of our family, friends, and colleagues are deeply impacted by the wildfires in Fort McMurray and surrounding regions. We are distressed by the number of displaced residents and damage that has been done to the area. And we are heartened by the news that there have not to date been reported injuries. As one Fellow ex

The Energy Futures Lab (EFL) is proud to announce the Government of Alberta as a convening partner. Recognizing the need for innovative ideas and new partnerships in the transition to a carbon competitive and more diversified economy, the Government of Alberta is officially joining the Lab to support and enhance its vast potential. The other EFL convening organizations – The Natural Step Canada, Suncor Energy Foundation, The Banff Centre, and Pembina Institute – are thrilled

Last time we talked about how data visualizations can be used to get a better understanding of the Alberta Energy system. Now we are happy to announce the launch of our Energy System Database ! As we have mentioned before, there is no shortage of data on the energy system but how can we get a sense of how all the pieces fit together? Well the Energy System Database is a great place to start. Database Categories We have organized the data sets in number of ways to make it easi

The Energy Futures Lab (EFL) has announced the names of the Energy Futures Lab Fellows – 40 influencers from industry, NGOs, government, academia, and First Nations communities across Alberta, who will work together over the next three years to help accelerate the transition to a sustainable, resilient energy system. These leaders have come together because they believe that how we tackle the interconnected issues of climate change, energy security and sustainable developmen

We have come together to convene this important initiative because we believe that how we tackle the interconnected issues of climate change, energy security and sustainable development today is key to Alberta’s future prosperity. The issues are so complex that addressing them is not possible unless we are working across traditional organizational and sectoral boundaries. Underlying our collaboration is a shared conviction that Alberta’s strengths and assets in today’s energy