$2T needed to reach 2050 target of net-zero economy: RBC

A new report says the country will need roughly $2 trillion to put the economy on a path to net-zero emissions in 30 years, including government spending on things like skills training and backstops to prod the necessary investments.

OTTAWA -- A new report says the country will need roughly $2 trillion to put the economy on a path to net-zero emissions in 30 years, including government spending on things like skills training and backstops to prod the necessary investments.

The report from RBC Economics estimates governments, businesses and communities would have to spend at least $60 billion annually to cut emissions by 75 per cent of current levels and reach the 2050 target of net zero.

Money will be needed to build out the electricity system to handle the expected rise in electric vehicles, which will also need some subsidies to get them off assembly lines and onto Canadian roads, the report says.

There will also have to be investment in retrofitting old buildings faster than current federal plans predict, retraining 100,000 workers with new skills for fast-growing green sectors, and skills training programs to add 200,000 more into the labour force by 2030.

The numbers add up to a massive effort to meet the Trudeau Liberals' short-term and long-term promises on climate change, but one the Royal Bank report estimates is possible if the government eyes a few key areas.

It's not about ideology, it's about math. And we've done the math and said, OK, here is how we can get those numbers down towards zero, and this is what it is going to cost,'' said John Stackhouse, senior vice-president in the office of the CEO at Royal Bank.We think that it's doable. So let's focus in a very kind of business-minded way on the key drivers of emissions change.''