Donald Trump may be the best thing that ever happened to Canada鈥檚 clean energy sector.

Since Trump was elected U.S. president last November, he has steadfastly supported the fossil fuel industry and development of 鈥済ood clean, coal,鈥� reinforced by anti-climate change, anti-science conservative train of thought controlling the ruling Republican Party.

In doing so, Trump has abandoned his country鈥檚 slow shift under his predecessor Barrack Obama to embrace the potential for clean energy technology development.

Tom Rand, a clean energy entrepreneur, said the reality Trump chooses to ignore at his country鈥檚 economic peril is clean energy will be a $2 trillion global industry by 2025.

鈥淐anada is in a position for getting two per cent of that just by showing up and acknowledging a desire to be part of that change. But the U.S. is walking away from that so there is a real opportunity there for Canada to get a far greater share of that economic growth,鈥� said Rand.

Rand talked about clean energy sector鈥檚 economic opportunities at the Building SustainABLE Communities conference held this week in 琉璃神社.

Rand said clean energy technology development will need support from the government to fund research and development initiatives because that is what fuels business product and service growth.

鈥淭he private sector doesn鈥檛 do R&D. We develop products and manufacturing ideas from that research but we don鈥檛 have the capacity to do that ourselves,鈥� Rand said.

He applauded the federal Liberal government鈥檚 additional $1.4 billion in funding for clean energy research administered by Export Development Canada.

Rand added we need to move past two debate points鈥攁re greenhouse gas emissions a concern and the merits of employing a carbon tax system鈥攁nd embrace the 鈥渞eal debate about how to redistribute carbon tax revenue back into the economic system.鈥�

Speaking to that issue at the conference was Christopher Ragan, a McGill University economics professor and chair of Canada鈥檚 Ecofiscal Commission, who said carbon pricing is the most effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while still growing the economy.

He said changing our lifestyle through cost of living is a better alternative to government regulation.

鈥淓verything we do in our lives is about price, from shopping to travel to housing. There is a reason that people in France don鈥檛 drive big trucks or big cars. Because the cost of gasoline is so expensive,鈥� Ragan said.

鈥淲e will do things differently if there is a cost-benefit to do so.鈥�

As opposed to the perception of carbon tax being an economic burden, Ragan argues carbon pricing encourages clean energy development delivered on a cost effective basis, mobilizes clean sector technology development and encourages entrepreneurs to meet a growing demand for clean energy products in Canada and abroad. He said that鈥檚 the case most notably in China, where that country鈥檚 political leaders have set ambitious goals to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in the face of escalating pollution issues.

鈥淐arbon tax is sometimes referred to as a job killer, but the single greatest job killer is the corporate tax and we show no sign of getting rid of that,鈥� he said.

Ragan says carbon tax revenue can be redistributed to both individual taxpayers and businesses to off-set higher living costs and the impact of change.

He said examples of that at the provincial government level are already being carried out in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.

The revenue generated from a carbon tax to help reduce greenhouse emissions can be recycled back to potentially reduce taxes, cut monthly cheques for low-income households, support green energy initiatives or finance infrastructure improvements, he argued.

鈥淭here is no right answer to how that is done, but if you don鈥檛 give the money back it just feeds a greater expansion of government. Jean Charest and Preston Manning sit on the ecofiscal commission. Politically, they agree on absolutely nothing but they do when it comes to climate change and carbon pricing.鈥�

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barry.gerding@blackpress.ca
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