Canada announces "greening government" strategy
Yesterday in Calgary, during her keynote address to the Canadian Wind Energy Association’s annual Conference, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada announced that the Canadian Government will reduce emissions from government operations by 40 percent by 2030.
Highlighting the role that her government has played in the global fight against climate change, she acknowledged that it is important the Canada lead by example
Steps taken by the Federal government:
By 2025, for all operations run by Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), 100 percent of our electricity will be purchased from renewable energyGovernment will invest $2.1 billion for repairs, retrofits, and greening the Government facilitiesThe Government’s investments will include revitalizing the heating and cooling plants in the National Capital Region, which provide services to more than 85 buildings and facilities. This investment will modernize six separate facilities and is anticipated to reduce their emissions by more than 45%The federal Government will invest in reducing emissions from our vehicles: shifting government fleets to electric and hybrid vehicles, and installing charging station infrastructure in government buildingsEstablishing a complete and public inventory of federal GHG emissions and energy useReviewing procurement practices to align with green objectivesSupporting federal government departments and agencies in being the first to use, test, and evaluate state-of-the-art innovations not yet available in the marketplace to address specific departmental needs and increase operational efficiencyThe Build in Canada Innovation Program helps Companies Bridge the pre-commercialization gap by procuring and testing late stage innovative goods and services within the federal government before taking them to marketConducting policy research and analysis to support renewal of departmental GHG implementation plans and the development of additional departmental targets to reduce the environmental impact of federal workplace operations
Centre for Greening Government
At the same time, President of Treasury board, the honourable Scott Brison was announcing in the House of Commons the creation of the ‘’Centre for Greening Government’’. Managed by the Treasury Board Secretariat the Centre will track the federal Government’s emissions centrally, coordinate efforts across government, and drive results to makes sure they meet their objectives.
Important facts:
National Defence (DND) and Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) account for more than 75% of all government greenhouse gas emissionsBy 2025, 100% of the electricity used in PSPC facilities will come from green energy sourcesDND will be purchasing a significant amount of renewable electricity for their installations in Alberta. This will meet most of their electricity requirements for installations in Calgary, Cold Lake, Edmonton, Wainwright, and Suffield
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