Time to crack open the 2010 calendar. Another year gone by. The Christmas decorations are now back in storage, the left-over turkey all gone, and the New Year's resolutions are firmly in hand. This year, I decided to come up with a few green economics resolutions for Canada. I have been thinking, what do governments in Canada — federal and provincial — need to do differently in 2010? What resolutions can they make to better reconcile economic and environmental objectives? How can they use economic principles to improve environmental performance? In other words, if I were Canada's economy, what green resolutions would I make? Here is what I came up with.....
Resolutions for Greening Canada's
Economy in 2010
- No more subsidies for polluting activities. Phase out (and eventually eliminate) government support for activities that cause significant environmental damage. Don't pay polluters.
- Instead, make polluters pay. Governments in Canada need to introduce policies and programs that ensure polluters, not society as a whole, take responsibility for the damage they cause.
- Increase support for renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements. If we realize the potential of these alternatives, we could reduce our reliance on dirty energy sources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and reap the benefits of economic growth, job creation and export opportunities that go hand-in-hand with these technologies.
- Take stock of and recognize the value of the country's vast natural capital. Canada's natural capital provides numerous benefits to our citizens — clean air, water filtration, carbon sequestration — yet these benefits go unregistered in current market transactions.
- Take a genuine approach to measuring well-being. We need to move beyond the use of traditional measures of progress (Gross Domestic Product) which measure only market transactions and imply that ever-increasing growth is possible and indeed preferable. We need instead to use measures that account for economic, social and environmental considerations. The Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) does just that.
What do you think, Canada? Are you ready to green the economy?
Amy was director of the Pembina Institute's public sector services group until 2010.
