Feds should coordinate environment and energy policy, now
TORONTO—Now that environmental policy is focused primarily upon the climate change impacts of fossil fuels, the two policy fields of environment and energy are inherently, inescapably interconnected. Any federal government making policy in this combined area, regardless of party or ideological leanings, faces three basic challenges. First, there is an inherent conflict between the traditional […]
Over the long term, good environmental policy is good economic policy
It’s difficult to imagine that only 40 years ago, Germany was one of Europe’s worst environmental stragglers. Today, seen as a model of environmental success, at the time it was known for forests ravaged by acid rain, waterways contaminated with toxic heavy metals, and air blackened from the burning of high-sulphur coal. Key policy decisions […]
We could be building a clean energy superpower in rural Canada
OTTAWA—Addington Highlands township is a two-hour drive west of Ottawa. It not only looks like a Group of Seven painting, it is: many famous paintings from the original G7 were created at Mazinaw Lake 90 years ago. Seventy per cent of township land is Crown-owned, and covered with a mature mixed hardwood-softwood forest. Indeed, this […]
Building the green economy with SMEs
According to Statistics Canada, businesses with fewer than 500 employees account for more than 50 per cent of Canada’s GDP. Canada has a higher percentage of these small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) than most OECD countries. Combine that with the fact that SMEs are a strong source of innovation in Canada, and it is clear […]
Towards a green economy: we need a national energy strategy, and a comprehensive climate plan
Worldwide, governments are concerned with making a shift to a green economy to stimulate growth, create new jobs, eradicate poverty, and limit humanity’s ecological footprint. It is no longer a choice between saving our economy and saving our environment. It is a choice between being a producer and consumer in the old economy, and being […]
Greening our economy = enormous economic opportunity
On July 4, a front page story on the business section of The Globe and Mail raised a number of the issues canvassed in this special policy issue of The Hill Times. It told the story of a $70-million German solar panel factory outside Dresden. The photo-voltaic panels convert the sunlight that reaches the roofs […]
Canada’s energy ministers should pull together a national energy consensus
Along with 12 regional governments, hundreds of First Nations, more than 1,000 municipalities, countless industry associations and a broad swath of civil society, the federal government has an important role to play. This would be a great time in our history to have an “easy” button. Click: reduced dependency on carbon fuels. Click: profitable green […]
Without sound climate policies Canada can’t develop strong green economy, say experts
Canada, a world leader in traditional energy reserves, is falling behind in its level of competitiveness in emerging global energy markets, says a leading environmentalist. “We’re not moving quickly enough. Not as quickly as Europe, as China—we’re in a situation where others are claiming the terrain,” Clare Demerse, director of climate change at the Pembina […]
Rural Canada’s boom-and-bust industries moving to green economy
Commercial projects in the renewable production of biofuels and electricity are emerging as potential saviours for some of rural Canada’s boom-and-bust economies. However, some critics argue that federal incentives don’t go far enough in fast-tracking Canada’s transition to a green economy. In May of this year, Los Angeles-based Rentech-Clearfuels and the government of Ontario announced […]
Government is behind times when it comes to greening the economy: Miller
Throughout his seven years as mayor of Toronto, David Miller implemented numerous initiatives to make the city's infrastructure more environmentally sustainable. Since leaving municipal politics in 2010, he has served as a special adviser on urban and environmental issues to the World Bank and the OECD. This fall he begins his tenure as Future of […]
