Climate Leadership

The Alberta government recently announced its plan for a 5.5 million dollar investment in solar power for both municipalities and farms. The plan will fund incentives in the form of rebates, to encourage more solar installations in municipal infrastructure. With 500,000 dollars earmarked for the On-Farm Solar Management program, they’re looking to provide long term energy stability for the agricultural sector. The move will also provide much needed jobs, and the move is just a part of the Province’s Climate Leadership Plan, which implemented a carbon tax, a cap on oil sands emissions, and the elimination of coal by 2030.

Premier Notley's leadership on increasing funding for renewables is echoed by the budget just presented to congress by President Obama. In it, he announces plans to double spending on the research and development of clean energy, taking it form 6.4 Billion in 2015, to 12.8 billion in 2020. Interestingly, renewables were the largest source of new power generation in 2015 in the country.

The funding increases are part of an agreement reached in Paris by 20 countries, including the United States and Canada, and private investors like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, Mission Innovation, an ambitious clean technology initiative. This global partnership aims to double government investment over the next five years in clean energy research and development, and to spur private sector investment in clean technology. In the words of the Prime Minister at COP 21, “a strong economy and healthy environment go hand-in-hand, and we are committed to leaving our children and grandchildren a more sustainable and prosperous country. Mission Innovation will tap into the vast economic opportunities of our environment by helping to create the growth and jobs Canadians need.”