Ontario's Green Energy Act is Leading the Green Economy

Ontario is leading North America with an energy vision focused on renewable energy and conservation. The province's vision is spurring the economy and creating green jobs. Ontario’s Green Energy Act (GEA) became law on May 14, 2009. Regulations to fully implement the legislation were introduced in September 2009.

Since 2003, Ontario has brought more than 1,200 megawatts of new renewable energy on-line. New renewable energy projects already in place or under construction in Ontario since 2003 represent a total investment of over $4.6 billion.

The GEA builds on the Ontario government’s earlier initiatives, including plans to eliminate coal from the power supply. Coal-fired generation is the single largest source of air pollution in Ontario and eliminating it from the supply mix will be the largest climate change initiative in Canada.


The GEA is growing clean and renewable sources of energy such as wind, solar and hydro. It contains conservation measures that will reduce home energy use and expand the smart grid. The GEA is expected to create 50,000 jobs for Ontarians in its first three years.

The GEA is providing certainty and clarity in the approvals process for renewable energy projects. It is also enabling domestic content requirements for renewable energy projects and helping local communities and First Nation communities to build, own and operate their own renewable energy projects.

The GEA is creating a Feed-in Tariff that guarantees specific rates for energy generated from renewable sources. The incorporation of more renewable energy projects will be expedited by streamlined approvals process.

The GEA makes energy efficiency a key purpose of Ontario’s building code and establish North American leading energy efficiency standards for household appliances, making energy efficient products more available to more consumers.

The GEA provides new financing tools to help consumers manage the up-front costs of small-scale renewable energy projects and sets electricity conservation targets for local utilities.

A new Regulation under the GEA smoothes the way for Ontarians who want to install green technologies like solar photovoltaic (PV), solar thermal systems; and ground source heat pumps. It has eliminatede the patchwork of local approval requirements while ensuring that important protections remain in place (i.e. Provincial Acts and certain local requirements).

Ontario is positioning itself to lead the green economy through green job creation, improved productivity and reduced emissions. This benefits the environment, the renewable energy sector, and ultimately the economy.

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The Indian Government is Supporting the Development of Electric and Hybrid Cars

The government of India is helping its automotive industry to develop greener vehicles by supporting hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs). The government of India's National Electric Mobility Mission will enable companies to develop batteries with lower running cost and maintenance.

“There are several players in India making different kind of electric vehicles but lack of infrastructure to charge these vehicles and the high-price of hybrid cars has prevented growth,” said Ambuj Sharma, joint-secretary, ministry of Heavy Industries.

In India hybrid vehicles cost twice the price of those powered by a combustion engine alone. The cost of EVs is particularly relevant in India, where higher costs have slowed the widespread adoption of greener cars.

The higher cost of battery technology represents a major obstacle to the growth of electric and hybrid vehicles. By investing in greener cars the government of India is capitalizing on an under-utilized segment and building an infrastructure that will generate economic growth and reduce emissions.
© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Investing in Green Economic Growth

A report by the UN Environment Program (UNEP), indicates that a relatively small investment by governments can go a long way towards helping the green economy to grow. According to Pavan Sukhdev, head of UNEP's Green Economy Initiative:

"Governments have a central role in changing laws and policies, and in investing public money in public wealth to make the transition possible. By doing so, they can also unleash the trillions of dollars of private capital in favor of a green economy."

An investment of 2 percent of the global gross demestic product ($1.3 trillion), could generate momentum toward a low-carbon world. Investing in the greening of sectors such as construction, energy and fishing could jump start the new green economy.

"Investing 2 per cent of global GDP into 10 key sectors can kick-start a transition toward a low-carbon world," the Nairobi-based agency said in a statement.

Such investments would not slow the economy. The report indicates that this investment would grow the global economy at the same rate, or higher, then present economic policies. Greener policies would still grow economies while reducing the ecological footprint by nearly 50 percent in the next 40 years. Despite some job losses, investment in more sustainable jobs would offset losses.

"The sum, currently amounting to an average of around $1.3 trillion a year and backed by forward-looking national and international policies, would grow the global economy at around the same rate if not higher than those forecast, under current economic models."

The report said that ten sectors (agriculture, buildings, energy supply, fisheries, forestry, industry, tourism, transport, waste management and water) could all benefit the environment if they were more green.

Left to purely market forces this transition would occur over time, however, the urgency of climate change demands immediate attention and these types of investments are the most productive way to spur the growth of the green economy.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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