Overview
The news is replete with developments affecting the cleantech
sector and the environment. While the global transition to cleaner
forms of energy and transportation technologies continues to
accelerate, Canadian policy makers are sending mixed messages to
the cleantech sector. On the one hand, the recent federal budget
(which included significant support for zero emissions vehicles
(ZEV) and other clean technologies), the roll-out of the national
price on carbon, and provincial initiatives such as the British
Columbia ZEV mandate and plans to phase out fossil fuelled
vehicles, are assisting the development of the sector. On the other
hand, the changes promised by the newly-elected United Conservative
Party (UPC) in Alberta and the challenges brought by a number of
provinces to the federal price on carbon are clearly less positive.
These conflicting approaches are creating uncertainty as to the
long-term policy context for the cleantech sector in Canada
