“The irony is, under the current government, we have the most comprehensive and aggressive climate policies that Canada has ever had,” Simon Donner, a climate scientist and professor at the University of British Columbia, told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview.
Not only are buildings one of the largest sources of emissions in Canada, but insufficient cooling or heating systems can be fatal when severe weather strikes. When hundreds died in B.C. during a heat wave in 2021, a huge contributing factor was that a vast majority of homes there do not have air conditioning.
Instead of separate furnaces and air conditioners, a push for heat pumps or district energy systems could make buildings more prepared for heat waves while lowering emissions, Donner suggested.
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