Harper fails Canadians on climate change and the environment

NDP plan aims to power up to 2 million homes with clean renewable power

NDP candidate Murray Rankin announced today that Tom Mulcair’s NDP government will introduce a financing mechanismto allow Canadians to safely invest up to $4.5 billion in renewable energy and clean technology as part of the NDP plan to tackle climate change.

“Global market demand in the clean-tech sector is expected to hit $3-trillion by 2020 and Stephen Harper has no plan to take advantage of it,” said Rankin. “The right choice – the only responsible choice – is to leverage this opportunity and for Canada to commit to an approach based on sustainable development.”

Pioneered by the World Bank, green bonds are a tool to raise capital for environmental projects. The NDP’s plan for Green Bonds will support production of clean energy; retrofitting our industries and the adoption of new, clean technologies across Canada.

“Stephen Harper’s failed record on climate change and the environment has left Canadians and municipalities at risk,” said Rankin. “Green Bonds will help Canada reach the hard targets for green-house-gas reductions Tom Mulcair will set, while strengthening and diversifying Canada’s economy for the future.”

Rankin noted that TD Bank became the first in Canada’s private sector to launch a green bond program, raising $500 million for clean energy, green buildings and sustainable land use in 2014.

In addition, Rankin said the NDP would support communities in the face of a changing climate with:

• Investments of $400 million to prevent damage from natural disasters, including better flood mitigation infrastructure and seismic upgrades for schools; and
• Investments of $9 million per year for emergency planning, equipment and training for first responders.

These initiatives are a core component of Tom Mulcair’s commitment to tackling climate change and build on commitments to make polluters pay; restore science-based decision making to government; improve clean energy security in the north, retrofit homes, as well as investing in green innovation in our municipalities.