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?
