The construction of energy-efficient buildings in the province of British Columbia has created 8,500 new jobs in the last two years.

The construction of energy-efficient buildings in the province of British Columbia has created 8,500 new jobs in the last two years.
Photo Credit: Stephen Hui/Pembina Institute

Green building jobs surge in British Columbia

The construction of green buildings is creating more jobs in the western province of British Columbia and a policy research group is calling on the government there to ensure the sector continues to grow.

The Pembina Institute says the number of jobs in the building sector grew from 23,200 in 2015 to 31,700 today. It adds that 750 environmentally-efficient buildings have gone up in the last two years but the retrofitting of existing buildings has declined by one-third.

Installing high quality windows, thick insulation and high quality sealing can reduce the cost of heating a building in Canada by more than half.
Installing high quality windows, thick insulation and high quality sealing can reduce the cost of heating a building in Canada by more than half. © The Pembina Institute

A call for policy to promote green buildings

The institute wants the British Columbia government to invest in programs that will increase retrofits and make ultra energy-efficient buildings the norm.

It says energy use in buildings accounts for nearly one-quarter of Canada’s carbon emissions and the cost of heating an energy-efficient building can be less than half that of heating a conventional building.

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