Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
The world’s current reliance on fossil fuels is unsustainable and harmful to the Earth. SDG 7 articulates the point that, to address this issue, access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy must be available to all. The EUC community is dedicated to researching clean energy options to mitigate climate change.
Sustainable Energy Initiative
The focus of the Sustainable Energy Initiative (SEI), co-chaired by Mark Winfield and Jose Etcheverry, is to build and strengthen the teaching, research and partnerships needed to create new green energy economies in Canada and around the world. Through the SEI seminar series, publications, and training, researchers and partners come together with public and private sector decision-makers and professionals to discuss and share their experiences in implementing sustainable energy projects and programs. The work is shaping policy, educating future leaders, and investing in sustainable energy to tackle climate change.
Exploring pathways to decarbonization and sustainability in Canadian energy systems
Mark Winfield’s research encompasses a wide breadth of energy-related topics, including low-carbon transportation, Ontario-Quebec energy and climate change policy linkages, energy storage, and Canada’s Low-Carbon Energy Transition in the face of right-wing populist movements. He is an active advocate for changing traditional energy relationships in hopes of creating more sustainable, reliable, and accessible energy systems for everyone.
Developing practical solutions to climate change
Investments in renewable energy resources are required to shift our reliance on fossil fuels. As Director of EUC’s International Renewable Energy Academy (IREA), Jose Etcheverry plans to bring three solar labs to York University and to develop new locations internationally that will provide experiential learning for students as well as research opportunities focused on electric mobility, storage, renewable energy and leadership.
Moving beyond technical solutions: Studying energy from a social sciences perspective
Lina Brand Correa’s research focuses on the interface between energy, the economy and societal wellbeing, with the goal of understanding and uncovering alternative avenues for decoupling environmental impacts from human flourishing. Her research work highlights the importance of centering wellbeing (rather than economic considerations) when discussing energy issues with communities. This opens up decoupling possibilities that go beyond technical solutions. In the case of energy and wellbeing, decoupling implies achieving the same or growing levels of wellbeing with fewer energy services.
The utility headquarters as a symbol of eco-modernism
Zachary Dark’s research focuses on hydroelectricity, decarbonization, and the Canadian state, with a particular emphasis on how historical and ongoing colonial dynamics shape the energy landscape in Canada. As part of his broader research into the contemporary politics of hydroelectricity in Canada, he is interested on how hydroelectric infrastructure both physically and symbolically remakes environments.
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