Canadian Election: Clean technology a key emerging issue

BP oil spill, Fukushima nuclear disaster spur concern

In last Thursday's Toronto Star, Clean Break columnist and alternative energy reporter Tyler Hamilton examines the policy stances of major Canadian political parties on the issue of clean technology development and implementation.

Here's an excerpt:

Clean technology innovation must be part of Canadian election debate

By Tyler Hamilton, Energy and Technology Columnist

Over the years I’ve written about dozens of clean technology companies doing very innovative work. Most , at some time or another, have received funding from a federal agency called Sustainable Development Technology Canada, or SDTC.

You may not have heard of this agency, but it has been around for nearly a decade and has played a crucial role as public nurturer of Canada’s fledgling green innovation economy.

It has funded 210 demonstration projects touching on everything from electric transportation and advanced energy storage to nuclear fusion and water desalination.

The technologies behind these projects are important if we, as a country, hope to use energy more efficiently, reduce waste, conserve water, shrink our collective carbon footprint, and keep pollution out of our air, soil and water.

But it’s not just about the environment. Businesses and industries that adopt these clean technologies become more competitive and productive by using limited and increasingly expensive resources more efficiently.

Gasoline prices are above $1.20 a litre. The price of oil seems to be finding a permanent home above $100 (U.S.) a barrel. Commodity prices are at record highs, driving up the cost of food and industrial materials.

The situation is going to get worse over the long term. Countries that learn how to do more with less will be far better off in the 21st century, and those countries that develop the enabling technologies can seize a healthy share of a growing global export market.

Sustainable Development Technology Canada has helped give home-grown innovators a leg up. For every dollar it has put toward a clean technology demonstration project, another $2.40 of mostly private-sector money has been brought to the table.

Put another way, of the $515 million the agency has so far granted it has attracted more than $1.2 billion.

This match-and-more funding from the private sector is what makes SDTC’s approach attractive. It squeezes money from institutions, companies and other players that might otherwise have no interest.

It reduces project risk by doing much of the upfront due diligence and putting its own flesh — that is, taxpayer dollars — in the game, making participation more palatable to private partners and venture capitalists.

SDTC doesn’t throw money at anybody. The bar is high for those who apply. Many complain that the application process is too taxing, but this is public money, after all.

Despite this successful formula — an approach being eyed as a model for the United Kingdom and California — the federal government has put SDTC on a shorter and shorter leash over the past two years. The initial $550 million fund created for the agency nine years ago is near empty, yet the Harper government declined in its 2010 budget to top it up.

The latest federal budget, now shelved because of the election, made an additional $40 million available over two years. But that represents less than a quarter of Sustainable Development Technology Canada’s annual funding over the past few years.


Full online article about clean technology politics in Canada