What can Canada learn from Sweden?
The rapid transition to a green economy.
The Canadian federal government has the plan to reduce the emissions from heating urban buildings by 2030. Right now, 78% of emissions come from space heating, and half of the Canadian homes are heated with fossil fuels.
Sweden's experience
Martin Forsén, manager of international affairs for NIBE Energy Systems, shared the Swedish experience of environmental transition at a conference in Mississauga, Ont.
In the 1970s, three-quarters of Swedish homes were heated with oil boilers. Today, electric heat pumps have practically replaced heat pumps have all but replaced oil in single-family homes (most multi-family homes rely on district heating).
According to the Swedish Energy Agency, this has led to a 95% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since 1990. "It has been truly a great success for us," the expert told those gathered at the conference.
According to Forsén, Canada is now in the first phase of the transition that Sweden experienced around 1994-2000. At the moment, the media tend to portray this technology as "some interesting experience," but even the heating industry is not completely convinced that this is the right development direction.
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