Mr. Chairman and committee members, thank you for inviting the Green Budget Coalition to speak to you today.
The Green Budget Coalition, active since 1999, is unique in bringing together 22 of Canada’s leading environmental organizations, collectively having over one million members, volunteers and supporters. The Green Budget Coalition’s mission is to present an analysis of the most pressing issues regarding environmental sustainability in Canada and, annually, to present a consolidated set of recommendations to the federal government regarding strategic fiscal and budgetary opportunities.
As the chair mentioned, I am pleased to be joined today by three of my expert colleagues to help answer your questions. They are from the Pembina Institute, Ducks Unlimited Canada and Nature United.
We are now in an emergency, and you've already heard reference from previous speakers as to the importance of net zero in dealing with climate change adaptation. Extreme heat, floods, fires, stronger storms, ecological disruption, dramatic loss of wildlife populations and a rapidly warming Arctic are being felt in Canada and around the world, causing widespread harm particularly to low-income and marginalized people. Science indicates that these and other impacts will intensify if climate change and ecosystem destruction remain unchecked. It is critical to take stronger action on the related climate and biodiversity crises to shape a world that is equitable, carbon-neutral and nature-positive and that provides secure, affordable energy for people in Canada and worldwide.
The Green Budget Coalition welcomed the federal government’s multi-billion dollar investments in budget 2023 and at COP15 in Montreal that advanced the coalition’s recommendations, particularly regarding clean electricity and also indigenous-led conservation. However, along with the imperative to use such existing funding effectively, we also need more funding.
In this context, the Green Budget Coalition is featuring five recommendations for budget 2024, compatible with some of the objectives that we've already heard this afternoon. These recommendations will create jobs, enhance affordability and support indigenous leadership and well-being.
The first recommendation is to finance nature protection and recovery in Canada to deliver on Canada’s commitment to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by fully implementing the Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework. This includes investing on a scale closer to that of climate change, prioritizing permanent financing to support indigenous-led conservation and acting to eliminate nature-harmful subsidies.
The second recommendation is to have, along with the increased emphasis on housing, a renovation wave for climate-resilient homes and affordable home energy. We are recommending that the federal government expand, complement and coordinate existing investments and programs across all departments; centrally deliver home upgrades to ensure impactful investments that integrate health, affordability and adaptation targets; and accommodate the unique needs of indigenous, northern and remote communities. We're recommending $24 billion over five years.
The third recommendation is to advance a zero-emissions electricity grid based on renewables. These are essential steps towards the major transformational investments required in the transmission, generation and demand side of electricity, including for remote indigenous communities. We are recommending about $26 billion over five years.
The fourth recommendation, which is supportive of that, is to have sustainable jobs for a net-zero Canada to help some of the youth who Anne and Lisa mentioned. We recommend scaling up investment in transition planning, job creation and worker supports to ensure that workers and communities have a smooth transition to a low-carbon economy. We are recommending $12 billion over five years.
The fifth recommendation is to have sustainable agriculture in order to help producers and Canada be leaders in sustainable and innovative agriculture with a resilient and diversified food system. We are recommending $4.5 billion over five years and then $130 million per year, ongoing.
In the coming weeks, we will be sending you our more detailed recommendations for the budget 2024 document, which will look a lot like this. It will provide more updates, more detail and many more recommendations supporting our submission to the committee, including those on climate adaptation, net-zero industrial policy, climate and biodiversity conditions on existing federal spending and environmental justice. Implementing these recommendations would lead to dramatic progress on advancing a healthier future for people in Canada from coast to coast to coast.
I would like to thank you again for inviting the Green Budget Coalition to appear today. We look forward to your questions.