Global conflict and geopolitical instability are once again driving sharp, unpredictable swings in fossil fuel prices. For households across Canada, that volatility shows up quickly: higher gasoline and diesel costs, more expensive home heating and cooling, and rising prices for goods that must be shipped long distances. The result is felt in everyday decisions about commuting, groceries, rent, and whether families can afford to keep their homes heated and cooled in winter and during summer heat.
Fossil fuel volatility is not new. Global conflicts – current, previous and ongoing – sharply increase oil prices and human suffering. The current escalating conflict is again disrupting fossil fuel supply and market expectations.
Each shock becomes a cost-of-living increase — especially for low- and modest-income residents, seniors on fixed incomes, people with disabilities, and those living in older, less efficient homes who have fewer options to cut energy use.
Some people argue that these price spikes justify further investment in oil and gas. However, this repeated volatility is precisely why governments need to accelerate a people-centered transition away from fossil fuels.
The most durable protection for people, local businesses and municipalities is to reduce exposure to global fuel markets by expanding clean electricity, improving efficiency and conservation and scaling up local, more cost efficient renewable energy options that deliver stable, predictable operating costs.
Residents and local businesses do not need more exposure to geopolitical shocks.
They need stable bills, safe and comfortable homes, reliable transportation options, and resilient neighbourhoods.
Renewable electricity, efficiency, electrification, conservation and community-scale energy systems are practical tools that reduce household costs over time and strengthen energy security—especially in a province like Ontario, where the next decade will be defined by electrification and the need to build and retrofit at scale.
A people-first clean energy strategy
A practical energy transition is not about a single technology. It is a portfolio of proven solutions that lower bills, improve health, and strengthen resilience:
1) Efficiency First
The cheapest energy is the energy we do not need to buy. Stronger efficiency measures reduce consumption immediately and permanently. Deep retrofits can cut bills while improving comfort and indoor air quality. Targeted retrofit programs should prioritize households experiencing energy poverty and rental buildings where tenants bear the costs but lack authority to make upgrades. Governments must ensure new homes, apartments, community facilities, and schools are built to be affordable to operate.
2) Heat Pumps
Heat pumps replace and reduce reliance on fossil fuels for space heating and cooling as well as water heating. When paired with efficiency upgrades, heat pumps significantly reduce household exposure to gas price spikes and provide cooling during the summer.
3) Distributed Renewable Energy and Storage
Rooftop and community solar, battery storage, and microgrids can keep energy dollars and good jobs local while improving resilience during power outages. For residents, community-scale renewables matter because they can provide access to clean power for people who cannot install solar themselves—such as residents living in apartments and many renters. Storage can also help manage peak demand, which is increasingly important as households electrify heating and transportation.
4) Clean Transportation Choices
Transportation is one of the most direct ways fossil fuel volatility hits household budgets. Expanding reliable public transit, improving walking and cycling networks, and supporting electric vehicle adoption (including charging access for multi-unit residential buildings) reduces dependence on gas and diesel. Over time, these measures lower household transportation costs and make communities healthier and safer.
5) District Energy and Low-Carbon Community Systems
District energy—especially systems that use geothermal, ambient loops, waste heat recovery, or other low-carbon thermal sources—can deliver stable long-term heating and cooling costs for neighbourhoods, campuses, and mixed-use developments. These systems are particularly valuable for large developments and areas where coordinated planning can reduce infrastructure costs in the short and long term.
A stable, more affordable energy future must be built locally with people at the centre. The opportunity to invest in this future is now.
Dorothy McCabe, Mayor of Waterloo, Member of Climate Caucus and Elbows Up for Climate Signatory
The views expressed are those of the author(s). National Newswatch Inc. publishes a range of perspectives and does not necessarily endorse the opinions presented.