Nova Scotia spends $37.3 million on climate change projects

Nova Scotia is spending $37.3 million on various climate change projects, the province announced Monday.  

The money is coming from Nova Scotia’s Green Fund and will cover a range of projects, some existing and some in development.

Of the total, $15 million is going toward a new fund for community projects. The province says it will cover incentives and challenges for communities to reduce their emissions.

The province will spend $8 million on extending the existing Home Energy Assessment program. This program provides up to $5,000 to homeowners who retrofit their homes to be more energy-efficient. 

Another $8 million is for the Solar Homes incentive, which started in 2018. This program helps homeowners who install solar panels on their property and has provided rebates on over 5,000 systems, said the province. 

Both programs are run by Efficiency Nova Scotia, which is in turn managed by private, non-profit enterprise EfficiencyOne. 

“The climate crisis is impacting all Nova Scotians and it’s clear that we need to act urgently,” said EfficiencyOne CEO Stephen MacDonald in a release.

Affordable housing units in Cape Breton will get $2 million, making them more energy efficient. This project also has separate funding from the Department of Municipal Affairs, bringing the total to $4 million.

$1 million will be spent on flood line mapping and floodplain maps for communities. 

“Flood line mapping is imperative to the planning that is needed to build environmentally resilient communities,” said Amanda MacDougall, president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities. This project focuses on adapting to extreme weather over curbing emissions.

The remaining $3.3 million will go to the federal Department of Environment over the next three years.