Energy retrofit loans are on horizon for businesses, homes

CALGARY As Alberta works to repair its international reputation, the province’s Environment Department will receive a multi-year budget increase — with dedicated funds for an energy retrofitting loan program, and improved environmental monitoring and enforcement.

Alberta Environment and Parks saw its spending in Tuesday’s provincial budget hiked to $527 million in 2015-16, up almost 14 per cent from $461 million in 2014-15.

“We made a big commitment yesterday,” said Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips, noting the majority of the department’s budget increase is related to the flood mitigation on the Elbow River announced a day earlier. “That’s important ... in the context that environment got a hold-theline budget, essentially.

“The priority for us is making sure that the people of Calgary and all of southern Alberta have protection against another 2013 flood.”

The department’s budget also includes $69 million for ongoing parks operations and infrastructure management, $40 million for water management and $38 million for land management programs.

It will go up another two per cent to $538 million in 2016-17.

As part of next year’s increase, there’s a plan to establish an energy retrofitting loan program with $5 million annually.

The program, which is expected to help families, farms and small businesses reduce their energy usage, was one of the NDP’s campaign promises.

“We wanted to make sure we had it in our plan and at least on our radar,” said Phillips, noting the allocation doesn’t reflect the full extent of policies they will bring in as part of a renewed climate change strategy.

The strategy is being updated by an independent panel and is expected to be released before international climate change talks start in Paris on Nov. 30.

It’s expected to include recommendations on how to price carbon, how to grow the renewable energy sector, how to promote energy efficiency and how to reduce the reliance on coal-fired electricity.

“Some of those initiatives will cost money and some of them won’t,” Phillips said.

The 2016-17 budget also pledged $5 million to strengthen environmental monitoring and enforcement.

“We made a commitment to the people of Alberta that we would begin to restore our international environmental image,” she said. “This is part of that — it’s not just about getting it right on climate change, it’s about getting it right in terms of our air, land and water.

“To make sure we are protecting the public and to make sure people’s health comes first, we have shored up some of those budgets.”

Simon Dyer, associate director for Alberta and the North with the Pembina Institute, said they’re pleased to see additional money for environmental monitoring and enforcement, but noted they hadn’t expected to see anything related to climate change.

“That has the potential to be revenue-neutral,” he said, referring to the potential for a carbon tax.

Although Pembina and Greenpeace were both pleased with an energy retrofitting loan program, each noted it will need to be much larger to address the issue.

“The $5-million retrofit announcement, while a step in the right direction, is ... less than what’s needed to help reduce emissions,” said Emilia Kennedy, co-ordinator of policy and government relations with Greenpeace.