Diversifying our energy economy will provide tens of thousands of new clean and green jobs for Albertans, and has the opportunity to create just solutions to our province’s contribution to the climate crisis. The government of Alberta, however, continues to drag its heels on introducing real policies, strategies or legislation that would set Alberta on a proactive course of strengthening the province’s position with one of the fastest growing sectors in the world.
More than 200,000 green jobs could easily be created in Alberta if the government made renewable energy a priority.
Green Jobs Groundbreaking report available
[2009] Commissioned by Greenpeace, Sierra Club Prairie Chapter and the Alberta Federation of Labour, the report Green Jobs: It's Time to Build Alberta's Future outlines how a green economy should look like.
Surveys show that 79% of Albertans agree that it is possible to have a strong economy while protecting the environment, and 78 % of Albertans prefer subsides for renewable and clean energy options in the future while only 11 per cent prefer subsidies for oil and gas development.
Provinces, like Ontario, as well as other countries worldwide are rising to the challenge of tackling climate change while also creating a sustainble energy economy with hundreds of thousands of new jobs for their citizens - its time Alberta steps up to the plate!
As mentioned in the report, "Alberta can start right now, putting tens of thousands of Albertans back to work, building a cleaner, greener economy" (page 4).
For an overview, see the backgrounder document.
More Information...
In the spring of 2009, the Sierra Club Prairie, alongside The Alberta Federation of Labour and Greenpeace Canada conducted extensive research on the possibilities of creating green jobs in the province by employing Albertans in key areas of solving the climate crisis.
The research showed that by investing in three key areas, substantial advancements could be made while concurrently ensuring our provinces economic health:
By building Alberta energy efficient, between 10,000 and 22,000 thousand Albertans could be put back to work this year! Easy stimulation of the sector could be achieved by providing grant and/or loa financing for efficiency upgrades for home energy retrofits that would enable insulation, weather-sealing and other efficiency improvements for every Alberta household that needs them. Greening building code standards to improve the standards for new buildings such that those buildings will be adequate to our energy efficiency needs 20 to 40 years into the future, and not just today.
Expanding urban transit solutions and high-speed rail in the province can provide between nearly 50,000 and 86,000 direct jobs. Transit and ground passenger transportation creates over 21 direct and indirect jobs per million dollars invested. Automobile traffic and flights between Calgary and Edmonton are time consuming, energy-inefficient, expensive and polluting. High-speed rail would provide a significant improvement on all counts, while providing tens of thousands of jobs.
Accelerating renewable energy development, in the short to long-term, can offer nearly 200,000 new job opportunities that will power our homes and office buildings with clean energy. Itʼs time to get on with Albertaʼs future by getting work on meeting ambitious renewable energy targets that would achieve at least 25% renewable electricity by 2028, making Alberta a leader in global new energy products. Offering incentives for home-owners and small electricity providers to install systems would further stimulate the sector making our rooftops, farms and fields the focal point for clean renewable energy generation.
News from around the world is demonstrating that the old myth of jobs vs the environment is losing traction. We can save and create jobs while improving the environment.
This is why the campaign RePower Alberta is so important. It is simply not enough to know this information - it has to be shared and communicated across the province and it has to reach the provinces populations that need it most. Albertans need to believe it, want it and know it before it can be achieved.
RePower Alberta combines the Sierra Club Canadaʼs expertise in grassroots engagement on environmental issues and viral marketing strategies to promote the message that we can create solutions to the global climate crisis here in Alberta that will improve, diversify and in fact stabilize our economy.
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