Yasmin Abraham
As rents, mortgages and utility costs rise, a growing number of households are under financial strain or at risk of homelessness. Housing costs already represent the largest share of most household budgets, and that portion has only grown in recent years. At the same time, the impacts of climate change are accelerating, and Canada has made a clear commitment to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Residential buildings sit at the critical intersection of affordability and climate action. The good news? It does not have to be a trade-off. With the right policies, energy efficiency and decarbonization can improve the affordability and accessibility of shelter and energy while simultaneously responding to climate change.
This webinar, co-hosted by the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) and the Affordability Action Council (AAC), marked the end of a multi-year project to identify policy solutions that simultaneously address affordability and climate change. In advance of the webinar, the IRPP published a paper by Pierre-Olivier Pineau from HEC Montréal titled “More efficient housing, more affordable housing: Putting energy efficiency at the heart of solutions.”
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