Will tomorrow's budget be the "greenest ever?"

February 22, 2005 -

OTTAWA – If Ottawa is truly serious about making tomorrow’s budget the “greenest ever,” it needs to lay the groundwork for change and not just throw money at environmental problems, says the David Suzuki Foundation.

 

“The most competitive countries in the 21st century will be those that make the most efficient use of energy and manage their resources sustainably,” said David Hocking, a Suzuki Foundation spokesman who will be in the budget lock-up in Ottawa tomorrow. “New spending alone will not make Canada a leader in energy-efficient and renewable technologies, nor will it enable us to reach our Kyoto targets.”

 

A truly ‘green’ budget will contain economic instruments – incentives and disincentives – to encourage this change. Currently, Canada is only using incentives to encourage a transition to a cleaner, more efficient economy.

 

“Incentives are good for rewarding those that do the right thing but we also need to discourage individuals and businesses from doing things that harm our environment,” said Mr. Hocking. “Canada needs to use the economic instruments other countries are using to transition to a new industrial model.”

 

Mr. Hocking points out that for incentives to be truly effective, they need to be backed up by regulations.

 

“Innovators should be rewarded with incentives,” said Mr. Hocking. “But to bring new technologies and ideas into the mainstream, regulation is needed to help level the playing field and provide some certainty for industry.”

 

The Suzuki Foundation hopes tomorrow’s budget contains the following:

• A decrease in the amount of subsidies going to the fossil fuel and nuclear energy sectors
• A 25 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency standards for vehicles
• Stable funding for the commercial and institutional energy retrofit program, and a permanent annual investment in the residential retrofit program
• A national public transit renewal program from revenue generated through the excise tax on gasoline
• An expanded renewable energy strategy

 

For more information, call:

Sarah Marchildon

Communications specialist

David Suzuki Foundation

Vancouver: (604) 732-4228, ext. 237

 

David Hocking
Chief strategic officer

David Suzuki Foundation

Ottawa: cell (604) 329-5361