K’JIPUKTUK (HALIFAX) - Nova Scotia has a lot to offer when it comes to lessons in energy efficiency. Now, these local examples are getting international attention.
Emma Norton, Energy Campaign Coordinator at the Ecology Action Centre, is part of the Arctic Cluster Project. The project engages with Arctic communities to share energy efficiency solutions from 15 partner regions, including Canada, Europe and the Russian Federation.
“We’re working to increase awareness, transfer good energy practices and technologies, lessons learned, and support the development of macro-regional strategies ensuring a better implementation of the cooperating projects,” Norton says.
In simple terms, the project makes it easier for partnered countries to share their best practices, and to get that information to places with similar geographical situations that are interested in using energy better.
“We’re helping partners to discover good community energy practices from other countries,” Norton says, “And it enables Nova Scotia to learn from the best practices in other regions that we can use to improve energy efficiency here at home.”
The majority of the solutions discussed focus on energy conservation in buildings, instead of jumping directly to renewable energy generation like solar power or wind power. Norton points out that this is the smartest way to reduce emissions in your home and community.
“Efficiency first, renewables soon after,” Norton says.
Throughout the fall, the Arctic Cluster Project participated in events in Finland and Scotland, and hosted their first online webinar. Norton was one of four webinar presenters who shared regional case studies.
Ianire Renobales from ERNACT network and SECURE project, presented the clustering project to an audience of more than 100 delegates from Arctic countries in Rovaniemi, Finland. Renobales says these presentations are key in reaching a broader network of potential collaboration partners and stakeholder groups.
"Thanks to this opportunity, we are getting not only a bigger impact of project results, but also a better transnational cooperation to face similar territorial challenges,” says Renobales.
Arctic Cluster partnership will hold their next presentation online in March. In the meantime, partner organizations are continuing to build an online inventory of existing good energy practices, which already includes a range of case studies from Nova Scotia.
As for Norton, she will be a keynote speaker at North Ireland’s first climate change conference, taking place March 12th in Derry City, Ireland. Norton will be sharing examples of great energy efficiency practices here in Nova Scotia with delegates from across the EU.
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