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LETTER: Political will essential to green energy economy

Reader Paul Campbell says a price on carbon is the critical first step.
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The transition to a low carbon future drives questions about the Canadian economy. Can a green national energy industry keep pace with our present resource-dependent system? Increasingly, the answer from the marketplace is a qualified, “yes, if the political will is there.”

In December 2014, The Globe and Mail reported that the green energy sector in Canada was employing more people than the oil sands. Innovative Canadian companies like Morgan Solar, Hydrostor, and Woodland Biofuels are poised to provide scalable technologies. What’s needed is a strategic and sustained commitment from government.

A price on carbon is the critical first-step. A fee and dividend system that applies an incremental cost on carbon while returning proceeds to Canadian families unleashes the creative power of the market. Moving government subsidies towards renewables provides investors the confidence to make major capital commitments. The pieces to the puzzle are there, we only need the will to make it happen.

Paul Campbell

Kaslo