Canada is all abuzz these days with talk of the federal government’s new ‘Greener Homes Grant’ program, which officially launched this month. You might be asking yourself, ‘where did this come from?’ and maybe even ‘why should I care?’ and ‘why does the government care SO much?’
Well, we’re glad you asked. Here are the top five reasons why the Greener Homes Program exists.
- There’s this thing called climate change, and it’s heating up our world and threatening life as you, me and everyone all over the world know it. Canada has committed to reducing the emissions that cause climate change to ZERO by 2050. Of course, you already know this, which brings us to…
- Our home-related emissions (mostly heating and cooling our homes) are responsible for 18% of Canada’s emissions, which is a pretty decent chunk, and since we’re headed to zero, this is not something we can ignore.
- 18% of emissions may not be the single biggest chunk of national emissions (which is, incidentally, oil and gas, at 26% of national emissions), but reducing this chunk has a few major benefits. First, it’s a pretty uncontroversial point, across the land. Folks in Newfoundland, Quebec and Alberta all like energy efficiency and can get behind initiatives to reduce energy use and – at the same time – emissions. This is something we can ALL AGREE ON, which means it’s likely to work. Bonus!
- Study after study after study shows that energy efficiency measures, like the ones made more accessible by the Greener Homes Program, create jobs! Local, good, green jobs. Think retrofit contractor, HVAC installer, LED light retailer, Energy Advisor, Solar installer, and so much more. We love that around here.
- Finally, energy efficiency measures, like those supported by the Greener Homes program, make Canadian homes better –Healthier, more resilient, and cheaper to heat, cool and light. That means happier Canadians who can spend less money heating their home and more money eating at local restaurants, which makes for more happy Canadians, and so on and so on.
Basically, every dollar the federal government pours into the Greener Homes Program (and our homes) reduces the money we’ll pay out in climate change damages over the coming years, while saving Canadians money, reducing energy demand, improving health, creating jobs, supporting local economies, and generally avoiding some of the trickier conflicts usually involved in climate action – especially when you are a federal government in Canada.
To learn more or sign yourself up, visit this link. And we’ll be by to visit to do your home energy assessment. See you then.