Simon Donner

Thanks Janet, I appreciate your comments.

As It Happens with Nil Köksal, Chris Howden | Live Radio | CBC Listen News that’s not afraid of fun. Meet people at the centre of the day’s most hard-hitting, hilarious and heartbreaking stories — powerful leaders, proud eccentrics and ordinary people in extraordinary c...

I spoke about the decision to resign from chairing the Net-Zero Advisory Body with As it Happens (9:20 mark of the show). This is the best description of what transpired, including how the Alberta-Canada MOU was cynical, and why I felt I had no choice but to resign.
www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

Thanks Jackie. It was, at times, but the system was poorly designed and times have changed.

Thank Glen, nice of you to say.

Thanks Joe, that's very kind of you to say. It's been a hard process, and I hoped it wouldn't come to this. But I feel I was left with no other choice.

Thanks Kathy, the respect means a lot coming from you.

Personal update -- I resigned from my role at Co-Chair of Canada's Net-Zero Advisory Body. The job had been a true honour and privilege, one of the highlights of my professional life. If you're interested in more of an explanation, see my Linked-In page.

Yes, in that international emissions accounting is based on what is emitting within the borders. Oil and gas emissions = emissions from producing, refining, transporting, NOT the eventual combustion, unless that happens in the country (and then is reporting under transportation).

The Pathways carbon capture project can work. The issue is the numbers. Trading Pathways for the proposed new pipeline likely leads to a net INcrease in emissions, even when it is fully operational. More to come.

I started writing "The actual math doesn't work", stopped, shivered, and checked if I'd written that before...

It is also giving me deja vu. I'm working on a more detailed analysis of the MOU, and was reminded of writing this for a similar analysis nine years ago:

The MOU with Alberta is deeply disappointing. It sacrifices climate policies, places too many eggs in the industrial pricing basket, proposes a pipeline deal that would increase emissions, and would have Canada double-down on fossil fuels at a time the world is moving towards clean energy.

The world is splitting between petro and electro states, and Canada risks being left in the dust The most important takeaway from this year’s UN climate summit isn’t in the agreement — it’s that the world is splitting into fossil fuel and clean energy states, leaving Canada at a fork in the road ...

Dr. @simondonner.bsky.social, chair of @NZAB_Canada said COP30 summit laid bare a rift between those participating in “clean energy revolution,” and “countries clinging to a fossil fuel past."
www.nationalobserver.com/2025/11/27/a...

Don't let perfect be the enemy of really good.

Nice surprise to be quoted in the Clean BC review.

Recommendations from a mandated review of British Columbia's energy and climate plan. engage.gov.bc.ca/app/uploads/...

The name made me wonder if the folks involved were fans of the Wrath of Khan, with its "Project Genesis" plotline

Attending COP is like going on a cleanse... the venues are hot, you burn energy walking miles between events, it's hard to find food. So it's like you spend a week or two sweating out all the toxins, literally and figuratively.

Certainly, the news is not all good... my issue here is that much of what was on display at COP is not in the reporting.

I know the CBC was live on the ground much of the time, and following all the proceedings. Can't speak for other organizations.

Yes! It is a hot, crowded, underfed zoo! See my video...

My critique here is really that the coverage is obsessed with the letter of the agreements and the geopolitics of the negotiatons, and not paying nearly enough attention to the energy outside those rooms.
bsky.app/profile/simo...

A few, though I was focused on work related to international climate councils advice and not near the media areas much

Fair, though keep in mind the action of movers was on display at COP, it just isn't reflected on consensus based text that is driven by broader geopolitical issues. Focusing on the final cover text and missing the panels at the China, solar, etc. pavillions is missing much of the story.

Bang on! Though it's been a problem with COP coverage for years now, it was more noticeable than ever this year. You've got dozens of pavilions talking about action on solar, batteries, adaptation, etc. and all the reporting is on telling but largely symbolic cover text weakened by a few parties.

Media coverage of UN climate summits is stuck in the past. With Paris in effect, we need to drop the old "COP was a failure/success", and instead use COP, with all the panels, side events and hallway chatter, as way to gauge the state of global climate action. That leads to a very different story.

I agree, I think we're saying the same thing, perhaps I could have worded it better. Basically Paris and the UNFCCC process helped seed the clean energy revolution. Now that Paris is in effect, the focus is implementation, and that is what is on display outside of the negotiations.

This jumped out because it's a message one usually hears more outside of COP, not at COP. Granted, the focus was more national > international, though subnational came up in relation to the US.

Yes, though strange bedfellows on CBAM though. Was fascinating to watch a EU representative argue that it isn't meant to penalize or take manufacturing from China at an event at the China Pavillion.

5) Global divide: There is an emerging schism between countries clinging to a colonial and extractive past and those moving to the future. It extends beyond the fossil fuel vs clean energy divide to whether adaptation relies on top-down initiatives vs. local and Indigenous efforts and knowledge.

4) US being left behind: The US absence was quickly normalized. Whether out of frustration or honest conviction, delegates spoke of the US declining in relevance. As an African govt rep said: “Americans should realize the world is moving on from them... other nations are this as an opportunity.”