Climate action equals smaller energy bills is the message every Canadian needs to hear

There are perhaps no two forces more anxiety-inducing than the existential threat of climate change and the very personal threat of rising costs of living.

But how do climate action and affordability overlap?

This was an area of ​​research we wanted to understand better: the intersection of our biggest long-term threat and our biggest short-term threat. Do people believe that climate action would make life more affordable for them, or do they assume that it would be another hefty bill on top of a seemingly ever-growing pile?

Weather research shows that climate action actually lowers energy bills, it was clear that people’s perceptions might not align with reality, and that these perceptions could have a huge impact on the coming years of political discourse. Especially now that the main candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada (whose fate will be confirmed on September 10) sharpens his “eliminate the carbon tax” talking points

Respectively, clean energy canada Y abacus data conducted a series of surveys and focus groups in Ontario this summer, given the political importance of Canada’s most game-changing province coupled with our desire to understand how recent regional investments in electric vehicles were resonating with residents. What we found was that while almost everyone we surveyed saw climate action as broadly beneficial, many felt that climate efforts would likely cost them more in the short term, even if such efforts could save them money in the long term.

While participants strongly supported climate action regardless of this cost, it was clear that if our current climate efforts had an Achilles’ heel, it was the belief that it could cost people more in the short term, regardless of whether that was true.

It would be hard to overstate how critical affordability concerns are for people right now. Last year, 90 percent of Canadians ranked a pocket problem as a top concern likely to affect his vote in the 2021 election, while deeper analysis revealed that economic anxiety cuts across the political spectrum.

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That said, a number of arguments resonated strongly with those of us who participated in this research, encouraging them to see climate action as beneficial to their cost of living.

Electric vehicles were widely understood to be cheaper to fuel than gasoline cars, and participants saw EV rebates (federal and provincial) along with government investments in charging infrastructure as effective ways to improve affordability.

This was consistent with a survey of 1,500 Ontarians we did in May, which found that 63 percent of Ontarians believe that electric vehicles are cheaper than gasoline cars when the total cost of ownership, such as fuel and maintenance, is considered.

They are not wrong. clean energy canada analyzed a number of popular gasoline and electric car models earlier this year and compared ownership costs over eight years. With only one exception, the electric version of every car tested was cheaper, usually significantly.

Another very persuasive argument for the participants was related to energy security. While oil and gas prices are driven by factors beyond our control – geopolitics and the maneuvering of countries like Russia and Saudi Arabia – clean electricity is produced and traded in Canada.

These arguments were not only effective but based on reality.

Here in Canada, for example, provinces like Quebec, Manitoba, and BC with the cleanest power grids tend to have the lower electricity costs in the country, while provinces like Saskatchewan and Alberta, highly dependent on fossil fuels, charge taxpayers more.

Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency wait Average household energy bills in advanced economies will decline between 2020 and 2050, with even steeper drops if governments achieve their net-zero ambitions by 2050.

Modeling of the Canadian Climate Institute similarly found that Canadians will spend a smaller percentage of their income on energy on the way to net zero.

These trends aren’t hard to explain: Even if you spend more on electricity, the lack of fossil fuel costs and improvements in energy efficiency add up to the net savings.

Still, other benefits of climate action were more obvious to people, from cleaner air to greater economic prosperity.

Almost everyone we talked to knew that electric vehicle manufacturing was a huge economic opportunity for Ontario. This was not particularly surprising, considering that Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis have all done recent investments to manufacture electric vehicles or batteries for electric vehicles in the province, with many political photographs, to begin with.

But while Canadians now generally understand the link between economic growth and climate action, Governments with climate ambitions would be wise to better communicate the cost-of-living benefits of their climate efforts while also ensuring greater access to these long-term cost-saving solutions today.

And that includes Ontario Premier Doug Ford. The province has invested heavily in making electric vehicles, while Ford now has its eye on a 100% clean power grid. The premier has always expressed concern about the cost of living for Ontarians. He now has a critical opportunity to meld his older message with his new, more climate-friendly government vision.

In our current inflation crisis, it is more important than ever that Canadians see a light at the end of the tunnel, and that climate action gets them there.

Those who paint climate action as an expensive luxury are out of step with reality, and yet a real gap between evidence and perception remains.

The climatic reason is clear. The economic argument is strong. With a compelling cost-of-living case on your side, climate action will be much more durable in the face of politicians who still want to “lower the carbon tax.”

Trevor Melanson is the Communications Director for Clean Energy Canada and David Coletto is the CEO of Abacus Data.