Mar. 24, 2010 - Issue #753: Zion I
US beats Canada
Pembina Institute reports environment spending greater in the US
According to a new report conducted by the Pembina Institute and Environment Northeast, the United States' federal per capita investment in renewable energy is set to surpass Canada's by a ratio of 8:1 in the coming year.
When comparing Canada's 2010 federal budget to the latest US Congressional Budget Request, Washington plans to spend more than C$27.4 billion (US$26,692 million) on green programs, compared to C$357 million in Ottawa. The reason for such a huge gap, according to the director of renewable energy and efficiency at the Pembina Institute, Tim Weis, "really just comes down to priorities."
"The message we're seeing at a federal level, is that [renewable energy] isn't a priority for the country," says Weis. "It signals that Canada is not interested in taking a leadership role."
While the Obama administration is focused on investing in clean energy and using it as an opportunity to create jobs, the Harper government—which made an election promise to move non-emitting sources of electricity from 77 percent to 90 percent by the year 2020—has released a federal budget with "virtually no significant programs to achieve this goal," the Pembina Institute said in its media release, including the refusal to renew funding for programs that directly support renewable energy development, like ecoENERGY and The Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences.
Industry Minister Jim Prentice's office has come under fire for pulling funding to climate research and clean energy investment, opting instead for regulations to current practices. "Their take has been, 'We don't need to subsidize because we're going to regulate, and that will take care of the problem,'" Weis points out. "That would be great, if it were true, but the fact of the matter is we don't have any regulations in place. We don't even have a draft proposal on the table."
The bigger issue at stake, argues Weis, is Canada's "major opportunity" to capitalize on global investment in renewable energy. In the US there are state and federal programs that offer public and private incentives for investment in renewable energies like wind and solar power, carbon capture, and mineral and biomass energies. "There really is a hot market being driven both by the states, and the American government at a national level, to create investment," says Weis. "In Canada we are seeing some provinces step up and create programs, but we don't have anywhere near the same types of cohesion between the provinces the federal government."
While some critics might argue that non-renewable resource-dependant provinces like Alberta will only suffer in the wake of green-energy investment, Weis argues that other provinces like Ontario, which is more coal-reliant than Alberta, has taken aggressive measures to end its dependence on "dirty" energy and is already starting to enjoy outside investment in its green initiatives.
"Ontario has more coal than anyone, yet they have committed to phasing its use out completely in the next three years," remarks Weis. "It has passed one of the most aggressive renewable energy policies in North America, and that is going to drive a fair bit of investment in Ontario. In fact, it already has."
That fact alone should comfort critics who worry about Alberta's oil-drenched economy drying up.
"This really is one area where we can make major headway, particularly in Alberta because it has so much coal. It's pretty surprising that we're overlooking the opportunity," marvels Weis. "It's a huge area of growth, from an economic point of view.
"In 2008, there was more money invested globally in renewable energy than in nuclear power, coal, gas, and electricity combined. We're still treating it as a 'boutique' sector, but much of the world is investing in it heavily.
"We still have a big opportunity to not only clean up our act, but also be a part of a quickly-growing part of the global economy, and right now, we're not taking it very seriously."
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