British Columbia First Nations will receive $3.95 million in federal funding for clean energy projects, in what the Pembina Institute calls “a positive sign that the federal government’s promises to invest in renewed relationships with Indigenous peoples are being realized.”
Pembina notes that 257 of Canada’s 292 remote communities have no connection to the grid, and are powered mostly by diesel generators. “These communities collectively consume more than 90 million litres of diesel fuel every year, producing greenhouse gases that directly contribute to climate change,” Lovekin writes. “Diesel combustion is also responsible for particulate matter air pollution and can contaminate soil and water during transportation and storage when spills occur.”
Lovekin’s post calls on the federal government to help communities shift away from fossil fuel subsidies, reintroduce production incentives for clean electricity, and “further invest in local energy literacy, knowledge, capacity, and the ability for Indigenous communities to own, operate, and maintain clean energy systems.”
