As COP 27 climate negotiations come to a close in Egypt and the world grapples with how to lower climate-damaging emissions, what’s Doug Ford’s response? Crank up the the output of our existing gas plants more than 600%, build new gas plants, and reduce gasoline taxes.
So what could our government do with the $1.2 billion it is using to offset the cost of buying gasoline from oil companies making record-breaking profits, if it really wanted to help Ontarians save money?
A great place to start would be to help people improve the energy efficiency of their homes. With rising home heating costs biting into many household budgets, matching the supports ($5,000 grants and zero interest loans) provided by the federal Greener Homes Program would do a lot more to help people cope with rising costs than a short-lived holiday on gasoline taxes. It would also do our climate a lot more good by reducing the need to burn methane gas to heat our homes.
Our study of the economic advantages of installing a cold climate air source heat pump, for example, found that the average gas-heated home could save more than $10,000 over the lifespan of the equipment (15 years) by switching from conventional HVAC equipment to heat pumps. That’s serious money.
Register for our webinar on Nov. 22 to learn more about heat pumps
We need to get our homes off methane gas to help our climate – and our pocketbooks. The provincial government should be helping us do that by supporting steps like adding insulation, improving windows and installing heat pumps. Spending money to help people improve the comfort of their homes, lower their climate impact, reduce their utility bills and build new industries in Ontario is the smarter way to help our families.