The provincial Energy Commission just released its proposed energy policy for New Brunswick and the government now wants to hear from you!

There are many great recommendations, most notably with relation to energy efficiency. But the Energy Commission just does not seem to understand the urgency of climate change and developing renewable energy now. They are recommending that we abandon our renewable energy and climate change targets.

We are at a historic fork in the road. The end of cheap oil and climate change impacts, from floods to rising food prices, are forcing us to rethink and redesign how we get and use energy.

Like us, you’re probably tired of aggressive and risky ways of producing energy and I think the Earth is as well. We’re actually pumping tens of millions liters of chemical-laced water underground for shale gas that has a carbon footprint greater than oil. We’re smashing atoms together simply to boil water while producing radioactive waste for future generations. All of this is leaving us asking: when will it be enough? What do you think?

Our team at CCNB thinks there’s a better way. Like we showed you in our Action Flick “Our Energy Future”, efficiency and renewables CAN meet our needs. Prince Edward Island made $3million last year from its publicly owned wind farms and Halifax is installing hundreds of solar domestic hot water systems.

That’s why we are asking you to write to the Energy Minister Craig Leonard. We’re going to write to him as well but we really need you to tell him “Enough is enough, it’s time to make the right choice for our energy future”. His e-mail is Craig.Leonard@gnb.ca and his mail address is P.O. Box 6000; Fredericton, NB; E3B 5H1.

Tell him it’s time to:
1. Increase our targets for producing electricity from new renewable sources to 25%, not gut them.
2. Strengthen our 2020 target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, not abandon it.

To learn more about CCNB Action's Roadmap for our Energy Future, click here.

thank you,

Raphael Shay
Climate & Energy Coordinator
 © 2018 NBEN / RENB