Economic diversification and renewable energy focus of Calgary conference
From fusion energy to renewables, a conference in Calgary is hoping to act as a catalyst for innovation and collaboration to help diversify Alberta's economy and wean us off the carbon revenue roller coaster.
Perry Kinkaide, the founder and past president and CEO the Alberta Council of Technologies, the organization which hosted Creativity and Convergence: Creating the new Alberta, said now is an ideal time to bring people together.
"To some extent when you're prosperous everyone's succeeding and stays at home. Meaning they stay within their industry, there's no need to move out. But when things are tough there are lots of opportunity for collaboration," he said.
With changes in governments, both federally and provincially, in addition to the price of oil, Kinkaide say he wants to encourage Albertans to think outside the box.
"At this time we think there are phenomenal opportunities for disparate pieces to work together, like maybe Edmonton and Calgary on an economic corridor, maybe arts and engineering looking at more diversified curriculum."
There are many avenues open to Alberta in terms of economic diversification according to Kinkaide, highlighting healthcare technologies, transportation and analytics as areas of immediate potential.
"But the longer term, those that could be transformative for the entire Alberta economy, take you into things like fusion energy," he said.
"These technologies are probably the driving forces for economic change on a global scale. If Alberta doesn't embrace them, if Alberta doesn't get involved, this province will be entirely a stranded asset, not just our carbon."
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Monica Sippola, a conference attendee and the principal at Eco Consulting Inc., was eager to speak with other like-minded professionals and said she's excited about potential new directions in Alberta after the government's unveiling of its climate-change plan.
"What we need right now is policy certainty," she said. "We've kind of got that policy announcement, or direction, that we had last week, what we need next, and hopefully sooner than later, is what does that policy actually look like."
She envisions more work on small-scale decentralized renewable energy projects in the near future, and hopes the province moves quickly on its promises to transition away from carbon.
"The world is watching us right now," said Sippola.
