WHAT’S A BLUE GREEN INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY?
It’s a coordinated set of policies that raises competitiveness in vital sectors to transition toward a low carbon economy. It can meet other goals — staking ground on the global value chain, setting the pace of technological change and levelling inequality — and ensuring a just transition for workers by creating and protecting thousands of well-paid union jobs.
Tools in a blue green industrial strategy include:
- Governments buying clean, Canadian-made goods like green steel to create demand for energy efficient businesses;
- Workforce training and re-skilling for workers to take full advantage of the opportunities in a green economy;
- Investing in green public goods like transit, high-speed rail, east-west transmission grids and net-zero buildings
WHY DO WE NEED A BLUE GREEN INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY?
In order to Keep The Jobs, Cut The Carbonand Build the FutureCanada needs to out do its G7 peers in the race to net-zero. Some progress has been made, but it’s been piecemeal. Successive governments have failed to lay out a comprehensive plan to wind down high emissions while building the green economy — clean manufacturing, renewable energy, public transit and energy efficient buildings — with a well-supported powerhouse workforce to match. A lack of political will is holding us back from building an economy that will serve us all.
A blue green industrial strategy would retrofit our economy to be more affordable, cleaner and more competitive now and into the future.
Climate change is an important driver of the cost of living crisis; environmental destruction is making our communities less safe and healthy. Dangerous weather like flooding and wildfires are raising costs for everyday needs like groceries. We need a blue green economy that will be more secure and reliable for all Canadians.
A blue green industrial strategy will ensure Canadians today and in the future reap the benefits from massive investment already being made in a clean economy. The International Energy Agency reports that yearly global investment in clean energy projects is nearing $2 trillion USD — almost twice the amount spent on new fossil fuel supply. Capturing that value will make Canadians more resilient and secure — not to mention safer from threats.
To achieve a blue green economy together we must:
- Build awareness and a shared sense of purpose within the labour and environmental movements for the need of blue green industrial strategy for advancing shared priorities.
- Identify and work with industry partners to advance shared industrial policy priorities.
- Advocate for the Government of Canada to develop a national blue green industrial strategy with implementation beginning in 2025.
Blue Green Canada and the Green Economy Network support policies to achieve a blue green economy. Click here to download a PDF copy of our Blue Green Industrial Strategy handout.
