According to Canadian Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver, the parliament is putting $78 million over two years into collecting and spreading information about buying more efficient vehicles, houses, buildings and appliances.
He said the program will assess existing technology and encourage higher energy standards, leading to an anticipated reduction in emissions of four megatonnes by 2016.
The goal is to push provinces to strengthen their building codes, and to provide consumers with detailed information that will allow them to compare energy-efficient products to more conventional products.
The money will also help improve energy-efficiency measurements for appliances, and encourage better energy labelling and training for workers.
The program is a new take on Canada’s EcoEnergy efficiency initiative, a multibillion-dollar program that began in 2007 but expired last March.
Oliver said due to budgetary constraints, the new program will last just two years.
For additional information:
