The reality of climate change is now upon the global stage and "the future will reward those who have adapted to a decarbonizing economy," says new U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.Tackling the global crisis, the U.S. climate envoy John Kerry has urged oil majors to diversify and adopt low-carbon technologies. “The climate crisis is very high on our agenda," he emphasized at the recent CERAWeek deliberations.The growing focus on clean energy is being felt all around.  In Europe, Big Oil is already well into its transition to becoming Big Energy.  China remains determined about cutting its carbon footprint.  India is endeavoring to diversify its economy away from fossil fuel, as much as possible.  Japan is serious about changing its carbon trajectory.  Pakistan is working on a billion-tree tsunami to counter the menace of melting Himalayan glaciers and the impending climate changes.From all around, the message is loud and clear: those who lag in adapting to this changing environment will be edged out of the emerging, decarbonized, global economy.Where does Ontario stand?According to a 2020 report by Environmental Defense, Ontario's annual greenhouse gas emissions rose for the first time in nearly a decade during the first year of the Ford government.   Citing federal figures, the Report found that Ontario's emissions rose by 10 megatonnes in 2018 over the previous year. "Ontario is trending dangerously in the wrong direction on climate change and the gap between Ontario's carbon reduction targets and actual emissions, levels are growing," the Report added.This marked Ontario's first annual increase in emissions since 2010, the year the province's economy emerged from the last recession, CBC reported.  As Environmental Defence's Sarah Buchanan told the CBC, the increase in emissions means that, just to hit its own targets, the government will have to make even more reductions than previously promised. And although the Ford Government remains committed to its emission reduction target for 2030, it is “becoming increasingly distant of a possibility," Buchanan added. "It's something that we don't have the luxury of time to fix."Despite the challenge, we see scant evidence of efforts to diversify the energy resources of the province.  Solar power, for instance, is almost out of the total equation.  And this is despite Ontario's significant, untapped, potential to produce solar energy and solar irradiation.According to energyhub.org, Ontario has the fifth-highest potential to produce solar energy in all of Canada.  Natural Resources Canada estimates that the average solar system in Ontario can produce 1166kWh of electricity per kW of solar panels per year.Impediments to becoming a part of the global transition to a clean economy are coming from several sources.  Lack of initiative and commitment, the existing mindset, and the scuttling of the incentives previously available are obvious culprits.Things went awry when – immediately after coming into power in 2018 - Premier Doug Ford scrapped Ontario's cap-and-trade system, canceled home energy efficiency programs and eliminated incentives to purchase electric vehicles. Ontario Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) canceled 758 renewable energy contracts, costing Ontarians over $232 million.The issue of exploiting renewable energy resources and diversifying the energy mix of the province is not of possibilities: it is more of an approach and mindset.In a February op-ed in The Financial Post, the chair of IESO – former Finance Minister Joe Oliver – correctly lauded the resilience of Ontario's system while commenting on the electric outage in Texas.  At the same time, however, Mr. Oliver also acknowledged the lack of renewables in Ontario's overall energy portfolio.[caption id="attachment_549083" align="aligncenter" width="440"] Joe Oliver (Harvey K/Wikimedia Commons)[/caption]Nuclear and hydroelectric base-load generation represent about 85 percent of Ontario's total electric needs, while wind and gas account for eight and seven percent, respectively.  Interestingly, despite their considerable potential, solar contributes less than one percent to the overall energy mix of the province.  It begs the question: why were wind and solar contracts canceled?  In hindsight, savings for ratepayers was likely not the reason.When viewed from the perspective of Ontario's scorecard on meeting its climate commitments for 2030, this scenario is untenable.  We should also not forget that, in one of his earlier pieces, Mr. Oliver had insisted that climate change benefits Canada.  Unfortunately, Ontario's approach is coming from the mindset of a person denying the very science of climate change.That is alarming, not fitting into the emerging global energy vision.  Living on the same planet, we all are on the same boat.  Borrowing a sentence from Joe Oliver, one is compelled to concede, “alas, the disconnect between belief and reality seems destined to endure for some time.”Rashid Husain is a global energy analyst. He writes for Canadian Energy Research Institute and is a regular contributor to the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, BBC and other international media outlets.