Congratulations to Gord Miller, Ontario’s Environmental Commissioner. Hours after he chided the province for concealing energy consumption information in public buildings, the province announced that energy consumption information for schools will be made public by July 1. It’s a small step in the right direction, as climate change grows ever more extreme. (Hottest year ever in the US; extreme heat and fire in Australia; disruptive warmth in Ontario…)
Energy transparency for buildings would provide an important nudge in the right direction, to encourage owners to conserve both energy and money, and to make buyers and renters aware of energy running costs. Austin Texas, for example, makes energy transparency mandatory for both public and private properties at the time of sale.
Environmental Commissioner of Ontario released Volume Two of his 2011 Annual Energy Conservation Progress Report to the Legislature yesterday. Improving the energy performance of urban buildings is crucial to reducing and surviving climate change, according to Professor Danny Harvey of the University of Toronto.