Provinces and territories need to go beyond encouraging voluntary action at the local level to meet energy and climate objectives, finds a new report released by the Community Energy Association, QUEST – Quality Urban Energy Systems of Tomorrow, and Sustainable Prosperity.
The new report, entitled Policies to Accelerate Community Energy Plans: An Analysis of British Columbia, Ontario and the Northwest Territories, is being released at the 2016 Energy and Mines Ministers’ Conference.
“Communities – the places where we live, work, move, and play – account for 60 per cent of energy use in Canada, as well as over half of all greenhouse gas emissions,” explained Tonja Leach, executive director of QUEST. “This means that community energy planning is essential for achieving federal, provincial, and territorial government energy and climate objectives.”
The new report finds that policymakers wishing to accelerate community energy plan development should introduce a suite of policies, similar to policies found in B.C., Ontario, and the Northwest Territories, that:
- Go beyond encouraging voluntary action at the local level;
- Enable community energy plan development;
- Require commitment from local governments; and,
- Provide components of the plan, such as energy inventories and/or staff resources.
“We can learn from the high level of community energy plan development in jurisdictions like British Columbia, Ontario and the Northwest Territories where specific policies have been found to have a positive impact,” explained Dale Littlejohn, executive director of the Community Energy Association.
“Community energy planning provides a pathway for federal, provincial and territorial governments to achieve deep energy and GHG reductions because it provides a platform for meaningful partnerships to form and grow.” said Mike Wilson, executive director of Sustainable Prosperity. “Today’s new report sheds light on the policy development that needs to take place provincially.”
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