CanREA

What is CanREA

The Canadian Renewable Energy Alliance (CanREA) is an alliance of Canadian civil society organizations from the non-profit or voluntary sector that hold a common interest in promoting a global transition to energy conservation and efficiency and use of low-impact renewable energy. Members of CanREA believe that this transition is needed to address global climate change, pollution, global energy supply, human security, poverty eradication and economic sustainability. CanREA recognizes that our window of opportunity is limited and that this global transition must begin now through individual country action and international cooperation using a variety of market instruments, regulatory measures, public education and voluntary measures.

CanREA’s Role

These are crucial times for renewable energy and energy efficiency in Canada and the world. Access to clean energy, energy security, green economic development, and the environmental impacts of conventional energy are key issues everywhere.  Energy efficiency has become a regular agenda item at meetings of the G8 group of countries. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) was established in January 2009 with 72 signatory countries. IRENA aims to be the main driving force for a rapid global transition to renewable energy.  http://www.irena.org/irena.htm. 

CanREA and its members are engaged with all levels of government advocating a primary role for energy efficiency and renewable energy. A well planned transition of Canada’s and the world’s economies to renewable energy and the maximizing of energy efficiency and conservation would provide environmental, employment, security, and social benefits for all. CanREA has participated in several international conferences on renewable energy and made recommendations for new policy directions on both efficiency and renewable energy.

CanREA is a founding member of the North American Alliance for Renewable Energy (ARE), which promotes the adotion of feed-in tariffs in US states and Canadian provinces, as well as federal support for this most sucessful policy. http://www.allianceforrenewableenergy.org/

CanREA and National Energy Strategy

CanREA released a Model National Renewable Energy Strategy in July 2006. The model strategy is built on the Policy Recommendations made at the landmark international conference on renewable energy held in Bonn in 2004, but also recognizes Canada’s unique division of responsibilities among federal, provincial, territorial, First Nations and municipal governments. We believe that this common view of what renewable energy and energy efficiency strategies should contain will contribute to a crucial national debate on this issue in Canada. More…

Since 2006, we have refined and strengthened our recommendations, making proposals to federal-provincial Council of Energy Ministers and to the federal government during budget deliberations. In May 2010 we co-hosted a  dialogue among a wide variety of Canadian stakeholders on the need for a national energy efficiency strategy. The results of this dialogue were published in August 2010 and have formed the basis for recommendations for the 2011 federal budget.

Read more about how you can help and check the websites of CanREA members in your area.