Another missed opportunity: Corbett on budget 2018-19

Our Executive Director, Lois Corbett, told reporters the province’s 2018-19 budget was another missed opportunity to help New Brunswickers deal with the health and safety risks of climate change.

Corbett told CBC New Brunswick on Jan. 31 that it was another “status quo” budget that was “a missed opportunity to help people take action at home and at work.”

Corbett said her vision for a budget strong on climate action would include an additional price on carbon that would be spent directly on ways to reduce other forms of carbon pollution, and a slate of incentives and programs to help people adjust to a new, clean economy, from providing transition funds for industry and small businesses, and incentives for homeowners and farmers.

Corbett made similar comments to CHSJ 94.1 FM in Saint John, adding it’s likely the province’s carbon pricing plan won’t meet the federal requirements.

In a statement released on budget day, Corbett said, “it is disappointing that we have a mere re-purposing of current accounts and no programs to support people’s actions — like buying better fridges, or putting more insulation in our basements and attics.”

In July 2016, the Conservation Council released our own roadmap to a low-carbon economy, A Climate Action Plan for New Brunswick, which proposed reducing emissions through a series of investments to retrofit our buildings, starting with social and low-income housing; expanding efforts to install renewable energy like solar and wind; and accelerating installation of the Energy Internet (Smart Grid telecommunications) to manage a more distributed electricity load. 

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