May 26, 2022 – The Federal 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan outlines a goal of reducing CO2 emissions across the country by 40%.

(That plan was the motivation behind our special panel discussion The Road to 2030, which you can read about on Page 10.)

While I’ve not read the entire plan, I have picked out some areas where you could find new opportunities:

• $150 million is going to the Canada Green Buildings Strategy. The Canada Greener Homes Loan program, meantime, will receive an additional investment of $458.5 million. Together, these measures (and others) aim to help reduce emissions.

• To help industries develop and adopt clean technology, $194 million will go to expanding the Industrial Energy Management System to support ISO 50001 certification, energy managers, cohort-based training, audits, and energy efficiency-focused retrofits.

• Ottawa is expanding the Low Carbon Economy Fund through a $2.2‑billion renewal, and launching the $180-million Indigenous Leadership Fund, which will support clean energy and energy efficiency projects.

And, of course, there is a lot in the plan for electric vehicles: an additional $400 million for zero-emission vehicle (ZEVs) charging stations.; $500 million in ZEV charging and refuelling infrastructure from the Canada Infrastructure Bank; plus $1.7 billion to extend the Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles (iZEV) program.

But it’s not enough to know that these opportunities exist… how will you pursue them? Is your crew even qualified to install and service these kinds of solutions?

Ottawa says the Emissions Reduction Plan will lead to “Good, sustainable jobs”. There’s no time like the present to start building your bench strength to make sure you land those jobs.

— Anthony Capkun, acapkun@ebmag.com.

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