FREDERICTON – Green Party Leader and MLA for Fredericton-South, David Coon, tabled a motion today urging the government to promote and develop jobs in renewable energy, energy efficiency and public transportation.

“We can’t self-isolate from the climate crisis as we are during this pandemic,” said Coon. “The COVID-19 pandemic has given us a unique opportunity to make ground-breaking changes in our economy, so now is the time to jump-start a New Brunswick economy that is sustainable, resilient, and puts people to work in well-paying jobs.”

 The motion tabled by Coon has three main objectives:

• Create an agency that would have the mandate to promote and develop jobs in renewable energy, energy efficiency and public transportation;
• Update the renewable energy portfolio requirements under the regulations to the Electricity Act to increase the target to 80% renewable energy on the grid by 2030 and 100% renewable energy on the grid by 2050; 

• Reduce barriers to generating green energy by allowing municipalities and First Nations to directly purchase small-scale, New Brunswick-based renewable energy for use in their government operations.

“The climate crisis is an energy crisis, so any meaningful solution needs to put renewable energy and energy efficiency at the front and centre of our economy,” said Coon. “By providing good job opportunities in the renewables sector, setting strong renewable energy targets and allowing for greater use of locally-based, small-scale renewable energy, we would be putting our province on the path to having a 21^st century economy.” 

- 30 -

This issue constitutes the eighth principle of the Green Caucus framework for a just recovery from COVID-19: “Create a resilient economy in a time of climate crisis”.