A new essay by Dr. Bjørn Lomborg, published by the Fraser Institute, links climate policy to higher electricity prices in Canada, with real consequences for client savings
Canada’s electricity prices have risen 88 percent since 2000, a rate that has outpaced inflation by a significant margin. The resulting drag on economic growth is now a concern financial advisors cannot ignore.
That finding comes from a new essay by Dr. Bjørn Lomborg, an internationally recognised climate and environmental analyst. It was published October 30, 2026, by the Fraser Institute. The research forms part of a broader project titled Climate Change: A Fact-Based Assessment of Costs, Trade-offs, and Results. It was developed in collaboration with Lomborg’s Copenhagen Consensus and argues that climate policies have imposed measurable costs on Canadian households and businesses.
For advisors managing retirement plans and long-term savings goals, rising energy costs matter beyond the monthly budget. They represent a structural pressure on the economy that can compress real returns over time.
What the electricity price data shows
The Fraser Institute’s research draws on data spanning 1960 to 2016. Over that period, every 10 percent rise in energy prices corresponded to a reduction in economic growth of about 0.15 percentage points. The authors say Canada’s 88 percent electricity price increase since 2000 makes the cumulative GDP impact substantial.
“Throughout history, as more people gained access to abundant and affordable energy, economies grew, living standards improved and prosperity increased, yet in recent years in Canada and across other high-income countries, climate policies have inflated energy costs significantly which slows economic growth,” said Elmira Aliakbari, director of natural resource policy at the Fraser Institute.
The research also contends that directing resources toward emission-reduction efforts in wealthy countries produces limited climate benefit. Rather than pursuing emission cuts, the authors argue those resources could deliver greater benefit elsewhere. The report estimates such cuts might slow global temperature increases by just 0.1 degrees Celsius by 2100.
What do rising electricity prices mean for advisors and their clients?
Higher energy costs reduce disposable income. When clients pay more for electricity, they have less to save, invest, or direct toward their financial plans. Advisors working with middle-income households may already be fielding questions about tighter budgets.
This is where financial planning assumptions may need revisiting. Projected savings rates, retirement contribution levels, and household cash flow models that predate the sustained electricity price rise may no longer reflect clients’ actual capacity. For advisors working with households already under financial pressure, research shows that working with a planner strengthens financial resilience across every income bracket. This makes the case for proactive planning conversations now.
A debate with real planning implications
The Fraser Institute sits on one side of a contested policy debate. Proponents of Canada’s climate commitments argue the long-run risks of inaction pose greater threats to client wealth than current energy pricing. Those risks include physical asset damage, stranded resource exposure, and regulatory risk.
What the Lomborg research adds is a concrete quantitative anchor. An 88 percent electricity price increase since 2000 is a verifiable, plannable figure. The measured historical relationship between energy costs and GDP gives advisors and planners a basis for modelling its impact.
Advisors monitoring how climate change action is reshaping Canadian investment portfolios will find the cost-of-policy argument adds a useful counter-perspective.
“Every climate policy comes with costs and trade-offs, and policymakers should be upfront with Canadians about what those are and what Canadians will have to give up to pursue them,” Aliakbari said.
Whether advisors agree with the Fraser Institute’s conclusions or not, the data on electricity prices since 2000 represents a real planning constraint. It belongs in client conversations about disposable income, contribution capacity, and long-term financial resilience.
