Greening  the  Economy  Federal-­‐Municipal  Policy  Alignment  

 

David  Thompson  Director,  Sustainable  Communi8es  

Sustainable  Prosperity  www.sustainableprosperity.ca    

 February  8,  2012  

Making markets work for the environment

Report  Overview  

•  Green  Economy    • What  it  means  •  Opportuni8es  

• Municipal  Ac8on  •  GE  Benefits  &  Advantages  •  Federal  Policy  Alignment  

2  

Making markets work for the environment

Meaning  of  GE  in  Canada:  Observed  NaConal  Goals  

•  Economic  growth  •  Higher  employment  levels  •  Public  debt  reduc8on  •  Climate  change  mi8ga8on  •  Clean  water  &  air  •  Reduced  waste  

3  

Green      

Economy  

Making markets work for the environment

Green  Economy  OpportuniCes  

– Green  economy  is  growing  •  Globally,  green  economy  worth  over  $4  trillion  

– Canadian  sustainability  market  (green  tech  and  services)  •  $2.3  billion  in  2010  •  $3.7  billion  by  2014  

– Canada  significant  opportunity  for  further  growth  •  sustainability  ranking  24th  out  of  25  in  OECD  

4  

Making markets work for the environment

MunicipaliCes  can  help  achieve  goals  

5  

Federal  green  economy  goals  

Municipal  ac8ons  

Making markets work for the environment

Diverse,  EffecCve  Municipal  Policy  Tools  

– Planning  – Zoning  – Development  control  – Establishment  of  protected  areas    – Adjus8ng  property  taxes,  user  fees  &  user  taxes    – Capital  cost  financing  assistance  – Procurement  policies  

6  

Making markets work for the environment

Key  Municipal  GE  AcCon  Areas  

– Sustainable  transporta8on  – Efficient  urban  land  use  – Energy  efficiency  of  buildings  – Renewable  energy  – Water  treatment  and  conserva8on  – Solid  waste  management  

7  

Making markets work for the environment

GE  Benefits  &  Advantages  

– Across  many  sectors  of  economy  – Na8on-­‐wide,  not  isolated  regions  – In  rural  areas,  towns,  ci8es  of  all  sizes  – Bang-­‐for-­‐buck  

8  

Making markets work for the environment

GE  Benefits  &  Advantages  

Bang-­‐for-­‐Buck:  job-­‐crea8on  of  different  investments  

9  

Building a Green Economy for Canada: The Role of Municipalities / 27

• Indirect effects are those created in industries that supply the inputs to industry in which the investment is made.

• Induced effects are those created by spending of workers employed in the above industries.

Noteworthy is that the employment and economic benefits of a given invest-ment are spread out through the economy – across the public and private sectors, across the goods-producing and services sectors, and across regions, provinces and the national economy. Invest-ments benefit not only those who are directly employed, but many others. Indeed,

some sectors produce more jobs indirectly and through induced employment than through direct employment.

However, multipliers vary by industry: a dollar of invest-ment in one industry will yield a different employment and GDP impact than a dollar invested in another industry. This is due to a range of factors, including how labour-intensive or capital-intensive the industry is, and the degree to which it relies on imports as opposed to local production. As it turns out, green economy sectors pro-vide relatively high levels of employment and GDP impact per dollar invested.

JOBS AND PERSON- YEARS OF EMPLOYMENT

GOVERNMENTS AND BUSINESSES OFTEN DESCRIBE THE IMPACT OF THEIR INVESTMENTS AS CREATING A CERTAIN NUMBER OF “JOBS.” TYPICALLY, THEY USE THE WORD “JOBS” AS A SHORT FORM FOR THE ACTUAL OUTPUT OF MULTIPLIER TABLES AND ECONOMIC MODELS: “PERSON-YEARS OF EMPLOYMENT.” THIS REPORT FOLLOWS THAT CONVENTION.

FIGURE 6: CANADIAN EMPLOYMENT MULTIPLIERS – SELECTED SECTORS (DIRECT AND INDIRECT EMPLOYMENT)

Source: Statistics Canada, “National Input-Output Multipliers”71

CONSTRUCTION

REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE

PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL SERVICES

TRANSIT AND GROUND PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION

OTHER MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT SERVICES

OIL AND GAS EXTRACTION

SUPPORT ACTIVITIES FOR MINING, OIL & GAS EXTRACTION

PETROLEUM AND COAL PRODUCTS MANUFACTURING

0 5 10

PERSON-YEARS EMPLOYMENT PER $MILLION INVESTED

15 20 25

DIRECT

INDIRECT

Making markets work for the environment

Federal  Policy  Alignment  

•  Untapped  municipal  poten8al  for  achieving  GE  benefits  • Municipali8es  oden  swimming  against  bigger  policy  8de  •  Could  achieve  more  with  federal  policies  aligned  

10  

Making markets work for the environment

Federal  Policy  Alignment    Can  Leverage  Municipal  AcCon  

– Predictable  long-­‐term  infra.  funding,  emphasizing:  •  Sustainable  transporta8on  •  Climate  change  adapta8on  

– Energy  efficiency  building  retrofits  – Subsidy  reform  – Knowledge  and  capacity  building  – Na8onal  user  fee  policy  – Harmonize  carbon  prices  (implicit  and  explicit)  – Extended  producer  responsibility  framework  

11  

Making markets work for the environment

Policy  Alignment?  Sprawl  and  Sustainable  TransportaCon  

12  

Federal  GE  goals:  climate  change  mi8ga8on,  cleaner  air  

Municipal  ac8ons:  Development  charge  &  property  tax  adjustments    

Making markets work for the environment

Policy  Misalignment    Sprawl  and  Sustainable  TransportaCon  

13  

Federal  GE  goals:  climate  change  mi8ga8on,  cleaner  air  

Municipal  ac8ons:  Development  charge  &  property  tax  adjustments    

Subsidies,  Externalized  costs  (smog,  GHGs…)  

Making markets work for the environment

Policy  Alignment:    Sprawl  and  Sustainable  TransportaCon  

14  

Federal  GE  goals:  climate  change  mi8ga8on,  cleaner  air  

Municipal  ac8ons:  Development  charge  &  property  tax  adjustments    

Reformed  subsidies,  costs  internalized  

(user  fees,  c-­‐price…)  

Making markets work for the environment 15  

David  Thompson  Director,  Sustainable  Communi8es  Sustainable  Prosperity  dthompson@sustainableprosperity.ca  www.sustainableprosperity.ca