Promote clean manufacturing to reduce air polluting emissions

  • Before allowing new sources of air pollution in communities already struggling with poor air quality (e.g., Hamilton, Sarnia, Windsor, Sudbury), require an assessment of what must be done to lower overall air pollution levels in the community.
  • Move ahead with Ontario’s commitment to put a price on carbon to provide an incentive for industry to go green and put the resulting revenues into Ontarians pocketbooks in ways that also encourage individuals to go green.
  • Stop undervaluing energy conservation efforts and increase payments for industrial energy efficiency to reflect the actual cost of the new electricity supply that would be required without these productivity-enhancing efforts.

We can’t continue to use our air as a dumping ground for pollution. And we can’t continue to ask some communities to shoulder an unfair burden of air pollution. We need to help people living in places with poor air quality like Sarnia, Hamilton, Windsor and Sault Ste. Marie to breathe easier by looking at the combined impact of all air pollution sources in these communities before allowing new or expanded pollution sources.

We can address air pollution and reduce the dangers of climate change by rewarding efforts to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions. By creating a cap-and-dividend reward system for reducing carbon emissions, we can give companies and communities a direct incentive to take action to reduce their climate destabilizing and air polluting emissions. Climate change is a dangerous reality that if left unchecked is going to unleash powerful storms, damage food supplies, and drive species to extinction. We need to act before it is too late.