Want a recipe to create jobs in British Columbia? Here it is: bold political commitment to a job-creating program that makes both environmental and fiscal sense. We need to create jobs, but we need to fight climate change just as urgently. The fact is, the two can go hand in hand. Two sectors in our province’s economy have real potential to create green jobs: retrofitting energy-inefficient buildings and public transit infrastructure investments.

The easiest and fastest way to reduce B.C.’s energy consumption — and diminish climate-altering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions — is to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. Families, businesses, public agencies and not-for-profits all occupy buildings that consume energy and emit around 7,700 kilotons of carbon dioxide per year, more than B.C.’s entire manufacturing industry.

Retrofitting energy-inefficient buildings is a green jobs strategy that could start immediately. No lengthy planning or approval processes are needed, and the techniques and methods are simple: insulation, high-performance windows and doors, weatherstripping, high-efficiency heating and cooling systems. Of the 1.8 million households in B.C., 800,000 were built before 1984. These have significantly higher average emissions than more recently constructed buildings. Retrofitting 100,000 homes a year in B.C. would keep 14,000 to 30,000 tradespeople employed, including electricians, heating/air conditioning installers, carpenters, insulation workers, building inspectors and others.

Retrofitting homes results in energy conservation and can save homeowners thousands of dollars and dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A report by the Columbia Foundation shows that at current energy prices, a homeowner can double his or her `return` — over $12,000 on an average $6,000 investment in energy efficiency over 25 years — by making simple changes like upgrading hot-water tanks and home heating and cooling systems, and improving weatherization and home insulation.

Naturally, the upfront costs — ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 — are a barrier to financing retrofits, even if the energy savings generated over time will actually exceed this amount. A David Suzuki Foundation report, Property Assessed Payments for Energy Retrofits, shows how upfront retrofit costs can be eliminated through innovative financing arrangements: loans provided to homeowners by municipalities, financial institutions, utilities or other funders can be paid back gradually through small payments on property taxes or utility bills. The financing obligations are included on a property tax bill as a surcharge until completely paid off, even if the property changes owners in the interim.

B.C.’s existing energy efficiency retrofit program, LiveSmart BC, primarily benefits single-family homeowners, not low- and moderate-income people who tend to live in rental housing and in multi-unit buildings. This needs to change. It is vital to offer people at all income levels an opportunity to reduce their energy costs.

It is also time to get our economic and environmental priorities around transport straight. B.C.’s transportation sector accounts for 40 per cent of our province’s total GHG emissions. That’s rising every year because of increased use of road freight and SUVs. Passenger vehicles and heavy-duty diesel vehicles now account for 87 per cent of road transportation emissions.

The best way to reduce vehicle emissions is to offer viable public transport alternatives and pursue regulatory and incentive systems to encourage transit demand, such as pay-as-you-go auto insurance that links insurance fees to distance driven, encouraging pedestrian and cycling-friendly infrastructure, and investing in transit expansion.

The economic need for transit is evident: It reduces congestion, spurs community development and encourages greater urban density.

The scandalous truth, though, is that the Lower Mainland’s transit authority, TransLink, is cash-strapped. Municipalities must scramble to cover TransLink’s funding shortfall through increased property and gas taxes. Meanwhile, the provincial share of TransLink’s funding has dropped to 35 per cent of the total from 47 per cent in 1999. That trend must be reversed. The B.C. government should listen to municipal leaders and other who argue that carbon tax revenues should be dedicated to long-term transit funding.

A survey of Canadian transit-system operators shows that a $7-billion to $9-billion capital investment is needed in B.C.’s public transit systems in the next four to five years, including bus and rapid bus system expansion and light rail. Investing in public transport makes economic and environmental sense: Transit and ground passenger transportation creates an average of 18.5 direct and indirect person-years of employment per $1 million invested. This compares favourably with employment from the oil and gas sector (1.8 person-years per $1 million invested) or forestry and logging (seven person-years). Sadly, Premier Christy Clark’s B.C. Jobs Plan similarly focuses on capital-intensive industries such as mining that generate comparatively few jobs for the money invested.

To those who balk at investing in infrastructure to generate jobs, we say remember that the government is already engaged in a hefty stimulus exercise: spending $10 billion for a new Port Mann Bridge, a new South Fraser perimeter road, a new roof on BC Place, and upgrades to BC Hydro’s infrastructure.

Why do we lack the vision to invest that kind of money in programs that will be both environmentally and economically beneficial? It’s time for a plan that fights climate change and boosts B.C.’s economy by creating good, green jobs.

SOURCE: vancouversun.com