[greenon-l] An Empty Budget for Conservation

[Conservation Council of Ontario]

Ontario's Conservation Movement



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This article can be found at http://weconserve.ca/articles/?p=17

 

 

An Empty Budget for Conservation

Chris Winter,

Executive Director

The Conservation Council of Ontario

 

On any other day, I would have cheered a budget that put $838 million into a
new transit line, doubled the subsidy for hybrid cars and maintained the
operating budgets of the lead conservation ministries.

 

The absence of any fiscal incentives for electricity conservation, however,
was both disappointing and troubling.  

 

Granted, it's not fair to expect the moon in a budget - there are many
competing interests and priorities that the government needs to manage.  But
in this instance, the omission was significant.  The Ontario government is
poised to make a decision on Ontario's power supply future.  There are two
options: follow the advice of the Ontario Power Authority and invest heavily
in nuclear power or follow the overwhelming public support for conservation.

 

If the Province intended to give conservation a chance to prove itself, you
would have expected to see fiscal instruments in the budget that would
contribute to a coordinated provincial conservation plan.  There was
nothing: no tax rebate on conservation products and no interest-free loans
to implement conservation audits and other professional advice.  In other
jurisdictions, from California to South Australia, these measures are the
financial cornerstones of a coordinated plan to engage the public, provide
tailored advice, and offer fiscal and regulatory support for conservation.
Earlier this year, for example, New Brunswick introduced an interest-free
loan program tied to the Energuide for Houses program.
(http://www.efficiencynb.ca/Promo/FAQ2-e.asp).  

 

I would normally be a little more lenient, and take heart in the slow and
steady progress that is being made, but time is running short.  If the
government isn't putting its fiscal weight behind conservation, then it is
leading us inexorably down the path towards investing in new nuclear plants.

 

We know the political will for conservation is there.  The Premier's
announcement earlier this week of a Standard Offer Contract for renewable
power placed Ontario at the leading edge in North America in its support for
renewable power. It was truly a banner day.

 

Conservation and renewable power go hand in hand.  What we need now is an
equivalent financial commitment for conservation, an integrated provincial
conservation plan, and a postponement of any decision on new nuclear plants
in order to give the culture of conservation time to take root.

 

Ontario's claim to being a leader in conservation is at stake, and time is
fast running out.

 

 

 

 

 <http://www.weconserve.ca/> weconserve.ca 

Ontario's conservation movement

 

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