QUEST Project Information Page

Quality Urban Energy Systems of Tomorrow (QUEST) is a diverse group from industry, the environmental movement, three levels of government, academia and the consulting community who are working together to make Canada a world leader in urban integrated energy systems.

Canadians are presently debating how their energy system can be transformed between now and 2050 – reducing GHG and air contaminant emissions by 60 or 70 percent or more. The focus in the recent past has been on large sources of emissions – the upstream oil and gas industry, electricity generation and resource based-industries, which account for around one-half of the emissions. As Canada gets serious about reducing the environmental footprint of its growing economy, we need to start thinking more about the “other 50 percent” if we hope to achieve the kind of transformation implied by 60 and 70 percent reductions.

This means a more in-depth examination of energy demand, and turning our minds to how energy is delivered and used in our communities – communities that are likely to grow substantially between now and 2050 – as well as clearly articulating a pathway towards quality energy systems of tomorrow. Land-use, energy, transport, water and waste management are complex and interconnected systems found in every Canadian community. We can achieve significantly higher levels of efficiency in overall energy use, help meet ambitious environmental objectives and ensure that Canadian community energy needs are met in the most economical and socially acceptable manner by taking a different approach to the way energy services are planned and linked to other systems.

Documents Available

In the next layer of the S2S website, you will find documents related to the scenarios, presentations and conclusions from the QUEST II Conference held in Victoria, B.C. on November 24-27, 2008 as well as other relevant publications from the QUEST coalition. The documents are organized into three folders: (1) QUEST II scenarios documents including a report by S2S on the scenario-related aspects of the QUEST II Conference; (2) QUEST II conference presentations; and (3) other important QUEST publications. The reports reflect the discussions and conclusions of the meeting and do not necessarily indicate the view of any individual organization represented at the conference.