Gordon Campbell goes Green?!On February 13th, 2007, Parliament was launched with a Throne Speech that “calls for bold action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” Included among the politically ambitious if somewhat vague promises, were a number of concepts that should prove fertile for businesses who are already walking the walk.

One that caught my attention was “A new $25-million Innovative Clean Energy Fund… to encourage commercialization of alternative energy solutions such as bioenergy, geothermal energy, tidal, run-of-the river, solar, and wind power.”
Commercialization should involve communications – to investors, customers and markets – to drive the monetization and take these technologies mainstream. Look for opportunities in rich media, web video, PR and branding. (I will be!)

BC is also now getting into the Carbon Credits game. “…the Province will work with the federal government and Pacific partners to develop a sensible, efficient system to register, trade, and purchase carbon offsets and credits.” As these kinds of programs are selling an ‘intangible’, they will depend on a strong, well-communicated brand story to succeed. Some lucky (?) agency will no doubt get to navigate these waters with a boatload of bureaucrats rowing madly in all directions. I hope the concept survives.

On a personal note, I was glad to see that “…Effective immediately, B.C. will become the first jurisdiction in North America… to require 100 per cent carbon sequestration for any coal-fired electricity project.” This puts a tidy cap on two coal projects (already approved by BC Hydro!) that would have created emissions equivalent to putting 300,000 more cars on our raods. Let’s hope they hold the line on that one, too.

Click here for the full speech. 
Click here for a more critical review from The Tyee.

 

 


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