Sustainable Prosperity and the University of Ottawa’s Institute of the Environment are marking the 20th anniversary of the Rio Earth Summit by presenting a two-day conference to examine the policy and economic dimensions of Canada in a global green economy.

Sustainable Prosperity and the University of Ottawa’s Institute of the Environment are marking the 20th anniversary of the Rio Earth Summit by presenting a two-day conference, “Building on Rio + 20: Canada’s Role and Priorities in a Global Green Economy”.

OTTAWA, ONTARIO, April 16, 2012 — Sustainable Prosperity (SP), a national green economy think tank and research-policy network, announced today that Mike Wilson has been appointed as SP’s new Executive Director.

Canada’s 2012 federal budget , despite some potential good news for clean technology investment, misses the opportunity to put forward a strategy that enables participation in the emerging global green economy. The budget also fails to leverage Canada’s substantial advantage in natural resources to ensure our long-term prosperity.

Malgré quelques bonnes nouvelles en matière d’investissement dans les technologies vertes, le budget fédéral de 2012 est muet sur les stratégies qui permettraient de participer à l’économie verte en émergence dans le monde. Le budget rate aussi l’occasion de mettre à profit les richesses naturelles du Canada pour assurer la prospérité à long terme.

A new report co-authored by Sustainable Prosperity, an Ottawa-based think tank, makes a range of policy recommendations aimed at building a green economy at the municipal level and recommends governments work together, particularly as cities face critical funding challenges.

Provinces should also amend legislation so cities can encourage high-density living in urban centres, says new policy document.

The Canadian Environmental Grantmakers' Network and Sustainable Prosperity release two reports on the role of philanthropy in moving towards a green economy in Canada, and pinpoint what's currently preventing us from moving forward.

Sustainable Prosperity urges greater use of economic incentives to conserve nature’s wealth

A poll released today shows that Canadians believe that climate change is happening and would be willing to pay for government policies that reverse or slow the damage.

Corporations and investors want certainty around policy critical to investment decisions.

Two of Canada’s leading think tanks released a new report today that compares air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from road and rail transportation. The report confirms that smog in the GTHA could be reduced significantly by moving car commuters to rail, such as LRT and subway, and freight trucks to freight trains.

The largest-ever global study on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) is being released today in Nagoya, Japan, at the Convention on Biodiversity’s 10th Conference of the Parties.

A policy brief released today links carbon pricing to possible gains in productivity through increases in innovation. The review profiles a growing body of academic research and good evidence (from the EU in particular) to show that careful carbon pricing policy may be a tool to help Canada, in particular, prosper in the long term.