Good afternoon, and welcome to Globe Climate, a newsletter about climate change, environment and resources in Canada.

The Winter Olympics are in full swing, but as the International Olympic Committee looks into the future of the Games, its hard to ignore that a changing climate is a challenge for finding hosts and organizing competitions. Changing the dates to as early as January (and February for the Paralympic Winter Games) is a possibility, according to the IOC.

Now, let’s catch you up on other news.

Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association president Flavio Volpe, right, shows Prime Minister Mark Carney the Project Arrow 2.0 prototype vehicle during a tour of an auto parts plant in Woodbridge, Ont., on Thursday.Eduardo Lima/The Canadian Press

For this week’s deeper dive, a closer look at Carney’s new auto-industry policy.

Last Wednesday, a federal source and three industry sources told our reporters that part of a new national automotive strategy would be for the controversial Electric Vehicle Availability Standard – also commonly known as the zero-emissions vehicle mandate – to be replaced by a return to tailpipe-emissions regulations.

The next day, Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled Ottawa’s plan to bolster the automotive sector and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, announcing incentives to buy electric vehicles and a proposal to use credits to encourage domestic manufacturing.

The changes included the introduction of new investments in an EV charging network and the elimination of the EV sales mandate, which would have gradually phased out internal combustion engines.

That’s the big headline-grabber from the whole plan: ditching the requirements put in place under Justin Trudeau and introducing tougher tailpipe emissions standards, which the industry generally prefers because they’re more flexible.

The EV sales mandate joins a list of climate-related policies eliminated or scaled back by Carney, including a cap on oil and gas sector emissions and the consumer carbon price. But it’s also a big move in the federal government’s efforts to support Canada’s auto industry and spur electrification at a time of trade upheaval.

As Adam Radwanski put it: “It means more carrots and fewer sticks in the transition from gas-fuelled cars.”

For example, the plan will reinstate the EV subsidies for consumers of up to $5,000 for battery electric and fuel cell EVs, and up to $2,500 for plug-in hybrids with a sales price of up to $50,000. However, the subsidies only apply to cars made in countries with which Canada has a free-trade deal. For Canadian-made cars, there is no price cap.

Still, the loss of the EV sales mandate was criticized by environmental groups as a step backward.

“While the rest of the world advances on EV manufacturing, affordability and availability, Canada continues to lag behind, dragged by big automakers that prioritize SUVs and other gas cars with big margins,” Environmental Defence said in a statement.

For firefighters, dual health crises smoulder

Canadians have spent decades building homes that sprawl into the countryside. At the same time, climate change is bringing warmer and drier weather, which will make forest fires larger and more intense. The country needs more firefighting capacity, not less.

The B.C. ostrich saga has come home to roost with a big bill

Doing the right thing, no matter how unpopular, often comes at a steep price.

Carbon Upcycling names Markus Kritzler as CEO, Apoorv Sinha to move to president role

Climate tech developer Carbon Upcycling has named Markus Kritzler as chief executive officer, allowing prominent co-founder and current CEO Apoorv Sinha to concentrate on investor relations and long-term strategy as president.

A snow drought and warmer weather across much of the Western U.S. has resulted in Utah receiving around one-third of its normal early February snowpack. An aerial view of ski trails under construction in Park City shows just how bare the slopes naturally are right now. The state relies on mountain snowpack for around 95 per cent of its water supply.Mario Tama/Getty Images

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Sierra Bein is the newsletter editor for The Globe and Mail, based in Toronto. She is also the author of Globe Climate, The Globe’s climate change, environment and resources newsletter.

Sierra works closely with The Globe’s flagship newsletters, Morning Update and Business Brief, supporting guest writers, finding coverage that matters most to readers and working behind the scenes to create the best experience for the audience.

Before taking on her current role, Sierra was an editor on The Globe’s programming team. For five years, she worked in digital and print production, curating the stories on the app, homepage, and newspaper. During that time she developed an interest in finding the perfect headline, an aesthetic presentation and digging through analytics.

Sierra cares deeply about making journalism accessible, especially for young readers. She also wants to help make the field of journalism more attainable for young, marginalized journalists, which is why she helped create the mentorship and scholarship program known as Shared Bylines.

Before joining The Globe, Sierra worked with Postmedia and Vice Canada where she was a general reporter. She has also freelanced for Toronto Life, Vice News, and Canadaland. She will always have a soft spot for her time in student journalism at The Eyeopener.

Prior to her life in journalism, Sierra was a piano teacher, skateboarding coach, and worked at her family's restaurant.

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Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community. This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff.

We aim to create a safe and valuable space for discussion and debate. That means:

If you do not see your comment posted immediately, it is being reviewed by the moderation team and may appear shortly, generally within an hour.

Subscribers who are logged in to their Globe account can post comments on most articles for up to 48-hours following the publication of an article on globeandmail.com. Closing comments after a short window of time helps to ensure effective moderation so that conversations remain civil and on topic. Comments may also be closed at any time for legal reasons or abuse.

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Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community. This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff.

We aim to create a safe and valuable space for discussion and debate. That means:

If you do not see your comment posted immediately, it is being reviewed by the moderation team and may appear shortly, generally within an hour.

Subscribers who are logged in to their Globe account can post comments on most articles for up to 48-hours following the publication of an article on globeandmail.com. Closing comments after a short window of time helps to ensure effective moderation so that conversations remain civil and on topic. Comments may also be closed at any time for legal reasons or abuse.

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