Absolutely, I feel that there needs to be more investment in the green economy. The perspective that I'm here to share today is that I think too often the discussion focuses on big business and on technology, and doesn't really address the value of engaging the vast majority of businesses in Canada, which are small businesses.
The conversation that we've had today is incredibly important when we think about the survival of businesses in Canada. If you can't keep your lights on and your doors open, are you really going to be thinking about reducing your carbon emissions? I think what I'm encouraged by in the budget is that we're trying to take both short and longer-term measures, and the reality is that we have a climate crisis that we need to address by 2030 and our emissions are going up. We're on the wrong side of this trajectory.
What are the kinds of initiatives that we're investing in? The purpose of my testimony today is to try to encourage all parliamentarians to think more broadly of the way that we're approaching climate action. This issue is not going to be solved by just a handful of people who are working on this. It's not going to be solved by miracle technologies. They're incredibly important and a critical part of the plan, but the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices, which is a federally funded independent think tank, put out a report that said the solutions already exist for the 66% to 90% emissions reductions that we need to achieve on the pathway to net-zero emissions by 2030. What we need is for people to adopt them. Small businesses are a critical component of making sure that we can do that, and at this critical juncture when they are rebuilding, the important part is that we're not building back to business as usual, but building in a way that's going to make them more competitive and resilient for the future.
Small business on their own right now, even start-ups.... Wouldn't it be wonderful if start-ups, as they're thinking about growth and building the businesses of tomorrow, have inherently built in considerations of how they're going to do that in a way that is a low-emissions strategy. It's not just about building green products and services but about operating everything the way that we do with low emissions. That's what I'm advocating for here.