CALGARY, AB April 21, 2014 – Efforts to make Canada’s seven largest cities more resilient are impeded by a series of barriers to improved energy management, a report from the Canada West Foundation concludes.
The report, entitled Buildings, Bicycles and ’Burbs, An Overview of Urban Energy Management in Seven Western Canadian Cities, notes there has been significant progress on energy saving and GHG reduction practices in Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg. But those cities still face an uphill battle to achieve further gains.
The effort to elevate the bar is encumbered by a number of factors. Among them: traditional energy forms are relatively cheap and abundant, new technologies can be tough to implement in small markets and city governments are faced with the challenge of engaging businesses and residents to promote better energy management within their borders.
“In the face of significant challenges, it’s startling to see what these western cities have already achieved in energy management,” said Len Coad, Director of the Foundation’s Centre for Natural Resources Policy. “But to get to truly transformative benefits, we now need to tackle some the underlying challenges.”
The report, funded by the Max Bell Foundation and the City of Saskatoon, is the first of two looking at energy management in western Canadian cities. The second report, to be released later this spring, will provide recommendations on how to improve urban energy management.