Craig has always believed that tackling climate change is good for business and the economy. When evaluating climate infrastructure investments and helping shape public policy, his goal is to unleash opportunities. While reaching net-zero presents significant challenges for Canada, Craig is working to unite different business ecosystems and stakeholders and help them see through the complexity and solve these challenges together.
Climate change has been an area of interest for Craig throughout his career. While studying for his MBA, he was a chair at Net Impact, a global community driving social and environmental change.
He’s spent the past two decades helping organizations invest in renewable transportation and energy infrastructure globally and working with governments on public policy for infrastructure delivery.
“Fifteen to 20 years ago, incentives for private sector investment in renewable energy infrastructure like solar and wind were in short supply: there was little government support, a lot of perceived technology risk, and no meaningful price on carbon.”
“Today, investors view solar projects as mainstream power projects that are financed through bank loans, leasing, and power purchase agreements.”
Craig witnessed several false starts in the climate change investment space before the tides started to turn.
“Something fundamental shifted a few years back. [Bank of England Governor] Mark Carney's 2015 speech to Lloyd's—warning that we can see climate change coming and need to act—pushed us closer to the tipping point. Asset management firm BlackRock signalled a further shift in 2020 by joining the Climate Action 100+ and in its annual letter to investors. The following year, it felt like the world had reached the point of no return when the European Union enshrined its aim of becoming climate-neutral by 2050 into law.”
Craig (left) on an eight day paddling trip through the north shore of Lake Superior, Ontario
“It's fascinating to work in the climate investment space. The complexity of the challenge is engaging. It involves working in the public and private sectors, with multiple industries, jurisdictions, and levels of government. Historically, many of these stakeholders have operated in conflict rather than in concert. Yet they must come together to solve these problems.”
“There's a role we can play to help these stakeholders work together while unlocking attractive commercial opportunities, which I find rewarding.”
One of the climate influencers Craig finds inspiring is Amory Lovins, founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute, who has spoken for decades about how speeding up the clean energy transition can bring commercial rewards while addressing climate change.
“Something fundamental shifted a few years back. [Bank of England Governor] Mark Carney's 2015 speech to Lloyd's—warning that we can see climate change coming and need to act—pushed us closer to the tipping point.”
— Craig Walter
“We help investors think through their strategies and execute investments in the climate space, from renewable energy generation and storage projects to transport electrification.”
“Our work involves environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) due diligence—understanding the risks and opportunities, and their link to value and returns in a prospective investment or investment strategy. Assessing the value impacts will remain challenging until we get standardized ESG reporting and disclosure.”
As well as supporting private sector clients, Craig's team works with the government to help shape policy to attract private sector investments in climate solutions, particularly energy transition projects.
“One of the most significant issues is the complexity and the sheer magnitude of change required to support these projects. Stakeholders unaccustomed to working together must learn to coordinate and collaborate. Our role is to convene different business ecosystems to help them see through the complexity and solve these challenges together.”
Craig illustrates these challenges using Canada's commitment to net-zero emissions for its electricity sector and for all new cars and passenger trucks by 2035.
“We have to balance energy security, energy affordability, and decarbonization. Electrifying transport increases the energy load on the grid, requiring more baseload power. Yet Canada must replace existing gas and coal-fired plants with green power alternatives to curb emissions. Renewables are only part of the solution, and will require investment in energy storage to counter intermittency. We must improve grid robustness to handle the different load profiles caused by electrifying transport and renewables generation. A further challenge is the chicken-and-egg problem of financing and building a charging structure before people buy electric cars en masse.”
“We have to balance energy security, energy affordability, and decarbonization.”
— Craig Walter
“Whenever there's change, there's a disruption in the labour market. We must consider how that will develop and ensure we're creating new jobs and replacing those that disappear as we transition to net-zero.”
Craig believes Canada must invest in and commercially scale the next generation of clean technologies to remain competitive in the energy space.
“There are incredible climate change infrastructure opportunities, but to benefit, investors must embrace bold decision-making and a different approach.”
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