Clean energy brings real, permanent jobs
Dear Editor,
Last year the whole of the United Kingdom (U.K.) managed to reduce their total greenhouse gas emissions to below the 1890 levels, or a 43 per cent reduction from 1990 levels! The UK population was only about 10 million in 1890. Between 1990 and 2017, the population increased by 13 million. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) more than doubled in those 27 years as well.
In the U.S. the population increased by over 75 million between 1990 and 2017, GDP increased to almost four times from 1990 levels, but their total greenhouse gas emissions stayed the same.
In Canada, our population increased by 7 million in those 27 years, and GDP increased by close to three times of 1990 levels, but our emissions rose by almost 20 per cent.
Why did our total greenhouse gas emissions rise from 611 million tons (1990) to 722 million tons in 2015, under Liberal and Conservative governments?
How will we be able to keep our commitment to reduce our emissions to 622 million by 2020? Some of our provinces, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario, have had reductions of their emissions to below 1990 levels already, so what about the rest of us?
Perhaps one way to reduce emissions would be to give properties/buildings (residential, commercial, industrial) which reduce their total annual energy usage by 10% a five per cent reduction in property taxes for a period of five years. That program could be administrated by Candid Revenue Agency. If someone reduces their annual emissions to zero (net zero), that tax break would be 50 per cent for a period of 10 years. Those incentives would reduce emissions permanently and create jobs across Canada for several years.
The Federal Government could enact a Canada-wide Property Assessment Clean Energy (PACE) program. Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec have this provincial program and this could be one of the reasons why those provinces are ahead of the rest of us.
The PACE program is known to create at least 15 new jobs for every $1 million that’s spent and creates $2.5 million of economic activity.
That success from other places could be very successful all across Canada as well.
Martin Holzbauer
Thornhill, B.C.