August 30, 2022

Greening the trades must be a key element of our net-zero strategy.

Did you know that it takes more than 30 different skilled trades and other occupations working on site to build a typical home? The construction sector includes designers, plumbers, electricians, masons, roofers, and a lot of equipment.

The Government of Canada’s new Emissions Reduction Plan includes a $150-million Green Buildings Strategy. As it’s developed, it will set out new policy, programs, incentives, and standards needed to drive a massive retrofit of the existing building stock, and construction to the highest zero-carbon standards.

Whether new construction or retrofitting to improve energy efficiency, making the skilled trades greener must be a key element of our net-zero strategy.

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We all have a role to play in energy efficiency.

Did you know that renewable energy sources currently provide about 18% of Canada’s total primary energy supply? Water, wind, and biomass are the most common. In fact, Canada is the world’s second largest producer of hydroelectricity!

There is no future without net-zero.

A report from a Berlin-based think tank ranks Canada’s per-capita carbon emissions among the highest in the world. This is not the record we want to be setting. We need to get serious about reducing emissions, in a big way, now.