Climate Change Action Plan will spend your money “in a transparent and accountable way”

July 11, 2016

By Anthony Capkun

July 11, 2016 - Ontario’s new Climate Change Action Plan promises to ensure proceeds from the province’s recently finalized cap-and-trade program are invested “in a transparent and accountable way” back into projects that will help households and businesses save on their energy costs while reducing greenhouse gas pollution.

The plan outlines actions the government will take to “combat climate change, create jobs in clean tech and construction, increase consumer choice and generate opportunities for investment in Ontario”, including:

• establish a green bank that would help homeowners and businesses access and finance energy-efficient technologies;

• provide “better information” about energy use in buildings and homes, and make new buildings increasingly energy efficient over time;

• make Ontario among “the easiest and most affordable jurisdictions in North America” for homeowners and businesses installing or retrofitting clean-energy systems like solar, battery storage, advanced insulation and heat pumps;

“Ontario’s Climate Change Action Plan will create good jobs, help people and businesses reduce their carbon footprint, save money and accelerate a shift to a more sustainable society,” said Glen Murray, Ontario’s minister of the environment and climate change.

The province says it expects to generate up to $1.9 billion annually in proceeds from its cap-and-trade program, which will be deposited into a new Greenhouse Gas Reduction Account, every dollar of which “will be responsibly and transparently invested”.