Environment

EDMONTON - In response to the latest report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Bradley Lafortune, Executive Director of Public Interest Alberta issued the following statement:

There’s an inspiring social movement gaining unprecedented traction in the United States, and people in Canada are starting to pay close attention. It’s called the Green New Deal.

Public Interest Alberta is pleased to release Priorities for Advancing the Public Interest.

The Alberta government has released its 2018 budget, which includes effective cuts to most areas of public services, as spending fails to keep pace with inflation and population growth.
 
“The piecemeal cuts to public services in the budget take Alberta in the wrong direction, but the striking thing is what is not in the budget,” said Joel French, Executive Director of Public Interest Alberta. “Absent are many things Albertans need, like improved classroom conditions in schools and addressing the shortage of long-term care beds for seniors.”

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), Leap Manifesto, and Friends of Public Services have launched a new campaign, Delivering Community Power with the aim of reimagining and transforming the Canadian postal service.

EDMONTON—A new poll asking Albertans how they would like revenue raised by a proposed carbon tax spent indicates that by more than a two-to-one margin, people favour spending it on green energy projects, transit and energy efficiency improvements.

EDMONTON—Members of the Alberta Green Economy Network (AGEN), a diverse coalition of Alberta-based green businesses, labour unions, NGOs, First Nations and Métis supporters, released the following statement in response to the government’s announcement on renewable energy:

EDMONTON—Members of the Alberta Green Economy Network (AGEN), a diverse coalition of Alberta-based green businesses, labour unions, NGOs, and First Nations supporters, released the following statement in response to the government’s climate announcement.

Public Interest Alberta would like to offer our congratulations to the University of Alberta's Parkland Institute on receiving a substantial grant for $2.5 million from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Along with an additional $2 million in matching funding from supportive partners and universities, the money will fund a six-year research project titled "Mapping the Power of the Carbon-Extractive Corporate Resource Sector."

A diverse coalition of Alberta-based groups has come together to push the Alberta government to create tens of thousands of good, sustainable jobs by going green. The Alberta Green Economy Network, comprised of labour, NGOs, green businesses and First Nations supporters, is lobbying the provincial government to act now to reduce emissions and diversify its economy – for the sake of the climate as well as the economy.