N.W.T. climate change advisor Jim Sparling on COP21 and next steps

As the senior climate change advisor to the Government of the Northwest Territories, Jim Sparling was the territory's point man at the recent COP21 meetings in Paris. With the N.W.T.'s politicians wrapped up in a territorial election, Sparling and three other delegates were there to tell the world about climate change's impact on the North. He recently sat down to speak with CBC reporter Mitch Wiles.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Q. What was the main thing that you brought back from Paris that you relayed on to the territorial government?

It's an international agreement, so it's the federal government's responsibility to figure out how we're going to deliver on that domestically. Nothing in the Paris agreement changes what we're doing in the Northwest Territories but it highlights how we can start to work with others to be able to reduce emissions and best practices. The federal government is going to start a process in January to start looking at how they can become more involved. Right now, it's the actions of the provinces and territories.

Q. From all your conversations in the meetings have you heard any plans from other regions that you think we should be looking at?

People are making the most progress by doing the things that make the most sense in their jurisdiction. British Columbia found that a carbon tax worked best for them. Quebec found that getting in on a cap-and-trade approach with California has been working for them. Here in the Northwest Territories, we've been talking with the other two territories. And one of the things in the North is that we already have high energy prices which provide the same price signals that a carbon tax would provide. It also means that our cost of living is very high, so we need to be cautious about how those kinds of carbon pricing mechanisms effect our economy. We are doing a lot on energy efficiency.

Q. Do you take information and give it to the government or are they giving you directives?

We work with the other departments to figure out what's the best mix of renewable energies. I'm [Department of] Environment, so for me the important part is the greenhouse gas emissions. For others it's the cost of living. For everybody it's the reliability of the system. We have to have reliable energy systems that are going to work during the winter.

Q. How is the N.W.T. doing meeting its commitment to the Compact of States and Regions goal of cutting emissions to 2005 levels by 2030?

Our target to 2030 is to remain stable at 2005 levels. Our most recent information is from 2013 and we were slightly below our 2005 levels. Overall, in the big scheme of things our emissions are 1.5 megatons [of CO2]. Canada's emissions are well over 700 megatons, There's a coal fired power plant in Alberta that puts out twice as much as our whole territory. So how we're able to manage our emissions with our long distances, long heating season and longer periods of darkness where we need lights gives us more of a challenge but what what we're hearing about the diesel subsidies [is] we can't afford the current system. We know we need to make changes.

Q. Is there a plan to stay at those levels?

That's where we look at where can we go with biomass. Where can we go with solar? What are our opportunities with wind? What other opportunities do we have with hydro?

One of the things we looked at last year was the power transmission plan which would have run a power line connecting both the Taltson and the Snare [hydro plants] and then could extend out to the diamond mines. If we were to be able to do something like that, that would reduce our emissions by 700 kilotons, a 50 per cent reduction.

It was seen to be technically and financially feasible but it needs a $1 billion upfront investment. And with the borrowing limit we just can't raise that kind of capital. I think it makes a lot of sense and it helps us to be able to balance off things like wind power and solar power.