Question #2: What is the role of government in promoting a sustainable balance between the environment and the economy? What would this look like practically? Each province should come up with at least 4 Policy Initiative recommendations.
In preparation for the conference, use this Discussion Board Thread to get the ideas going.
This post was edited on: 2012-03-19 at 02:05 AM by: Terry Godwaldt (Moderator)
6 Replies
The role of government in promoting a sustainable balance is that they are the people who check that the companies are using the environment in a proper manner. The government can fine the users of these energy sources and they can affect the decisions of the people by providing programs that could promote a society that respects resources. They should be involved in the decision that energy producers make because the government voice the opinions and the beliefs of Canadians.
If the government is involved more often and helps in the decision process of the energy producers may help the citizens to have a better idea of what is going on because the decisions of the government are often for the benefit of the citizens. However, because the government decision’s are heared from the media this may create a biased opinion of what is going on due to the journalists, who are the producers of the articles.
Alberta should create policies that force the energy producers to make sure that they inform the government of the decisions. Also, there should be an additional policy that makes sure the government, in turn, is informing the citizens who are the people who will get affected. The people of Canada should be informed more often because their taxes are being used and they are the majority who make up Canada.
This post was edited on: 2012-03-19 at 10:46 PM by: ZeynepO
The role of the government isn't only to come up with new policies to stop polluters but to also get Canadians motivated to sustain our environment. The government can produce more taxes to put on polluters so that the companies slow down their production rate. The government should also start at the core of our society which are the youth of the next generation. If the government finds a way to motivate the youth then the youth will continue to help sustain and promote Canada's environment.
bjhughes3 wrote:
The role of the government isn't only to come up with new policies to stop polluters but to also get Canadians motivated to sustain our environment. The government can produce more taxes to put on polluters so that the companies slow down their production rate.
The government not only needs to fine the polluters but also to provide incentive for people to make the change to greener energy. As an example, in Ontario, you can resell any extra energy you produce (say through solar panels) to Hydro One. (Our energy producer) More incentives such as these, need to be implemented in order to convince the people and the youth of Canada to make the change.
Furthermore, if the government could create a way for individuals purchasing solar panels, or installing geothermal heating to use it as a tax write-off, it would be a more compelling option.
Thirdly the government needs to implement a standard, national plan that allows the Federal legislature to have control over the actions of each province; in order for Canada to go green the Canadian government needs to have a say. We can no longer rely on each provincial government to institute the same policies, especially when provinces like Alberta can profit so heavily from the oil sands.
The role of the government is to come up with and implement ways to have a sustainable balance between the environment and the economy as well as motivate the citizens to implement this balance in their own daily lives.
The different parties in the government decide on what to put money towards concerning sustainable energy. For example, the conservative party committed $2 billion towards ecoEnergy to promote smarter energy use and more efficient use of clean energy sources and traditional energy sources. Another aspect of the role the government plays is that they say they will do things but they have to be able to actually put what they say, into effect and make it a reality.
In promoting a sustainable balance between the environment and the economy, the role of government is to generate policies and regulations that would both avoid economic failure and environmental damage at the same time. A sustainable balance can be achieved if the government’s decisions include beneficial effects on both the economy and the environment.
Government can engage stakeholders in developing comprehensive approaches to encourage increased production and use of clean, renewable energy, and to promote greater energy efficiency.It can establish emission limitations for companies and implement taxes if the limit are crossed. It can also grant tax credits to corporations for energy efficiency upgrades.
The key is to create awareness and get people involved especially the young generation. For instance, a bill was introduced in the California legislature to create a Clean Technology and Renewable Energy Job Training program to expand a trained green workforce. This bill not only supports the environment but also helps the economy by creating more jobs.
Zeynep Ozdemir
Mar 19, 2012 at 12:09 PM