Rural areas are harder hit by climate change. These communities are rising to the challenge

Mike Hole says he wants to be part of the fight against climate change. But he says it’s not so easy for someone who lives in rural Canada.

“Everywhere we talk about climate change and the things you can do to help slow it or turn it around, it always seems to be from a city perspective,” said Hole, who lives in Boissevain, male, with a population of around 2,000 people.

“The things they come up with are very easy for someone in a city to do, but very difficult for people in rural Canada to do.”

About 20 per cent of Canadians live in rural and remote parts of the country. And according to a Federal government report released in 2023Rural Canadians are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Some remote communities rely on ice roads that form only when temperatures are cold enough, which risks increasing temperatures. Many rural and indigenous communities also rely heavily on agricultural and natural resource industries such as forestry. And wildfires have affected many rural areas across Canada.

But those challenges also put rural communities on the front lines of addressing some of these pressing issues, and many are finding ways to go further in the fight against climate change.

Electric vs. Gas

One of the challenges of Hole is traveling. He has to drive from his home in Boissevain to get to work in Brandon.

“I would love to be able to ride my bike to work, but, you know, 75 kilometers both ways, it just doesn’t work for me,” Hole said.

He says that while electric vehicles can work very well in the city, during frigid prairie winters, an electric vehicle’s battery doesn’t last nearly as long. While Hole says he hopes to get a hybrid for his next vehicle, he doesn’t see a fully electric vehicle as a viable option for him.

He said he worries about what would happen if he came home from work, low on battery, only to discover there was a family emergency.

But Rachel Doran says that in the long run, investments like electric vehicles can “drive savings.” Doran is vice-president of policy and strategy for Clean Energy Canada, a think tank at Simon Fraser University.

Each year, your organization calculates the total cost of electric vehicle ownership, factoring in maintenance, electric versus gas costs, startup costs, and reimbursements in each province.

“In every matchup we looked at, the electric vehicle came out cheaper over a 10-year life of the vehicle, each,” said Doran, whose calculations had factored in a federal rebate on EVs that have ended.

But even if it’s a better bang for your buck in the long run, Hole says the initial cost can be a barrier for many people in rural areas.

Doran says that’s where the government needs to intervene.

“There is absolutely an important role for governments to really show up and [help] People who would love to get behind the wheel of an EV but just find some challenges doing so,” Doran said.

She says this can be done through rebates and improving charging infrastructure in rural areas.

Heating

Hole’s challenges are not limited to transportation. He says when it comes to home heating, your most affordable option is to throw a few more logs on the fire.

“It’s cheaper. It’s really nice heat,” Hole said. “I think it’s a Catch-22, that yes we are putting all this wood smoke into the atmosphere, but when I can save money on my bill, that seems to come first these days.”

Brendan Haley at Efficiency Canada, an Ottawa-based advocacy group, says the cost of energy is often higher for people living in rural areas because of higher fixed charges, a fixed price per month that does not depend of use. This is because it is more expensive to bring power to remote areas.

“The data we have is that 30 percent of rural households spend twice as much energy as average,” Haley said.

Haley says power is also less reliable, as small towns are often at the end of distribution lines, and more densely populated areas are often prioritized for reconnection.

It suggests that people in rural areas prioritize making their homes as energy efficient as possible, whether through government programs, additional electrical power from solar panels, or by using a home energy storage system, which can Capture electricity from various sources, including grid OFF OFF. -Peak Times -for later use.

Community Power

Haley said she understands these changes may not be easy or affordable for everyone. But if people pool their resources, some of those green options become more practical.

“I think it just requires coordinating so that it creates an opportunity on a larger scale, and that’s all the better because it means more people are getting these solutions, not just a house,” Haley said.

Nicola’s Top Band in Douglas Lake, BC, has done just that. The area has one of the largest electrical substations in the province, so the community came up with the idea of ​​a solar project that will allow them to sell clean energy to the grid.

“We had a unique opportunity to leverage our aspirations around climate change and green energy into real solutions on the ground,” said Chief Dan Manuel.

An agreement has been reached with BC Hydro for a solar project that will provide enough electricity to power almost 5,000 homes. Manuel says the band hopes to start the project next year. Proceeds from the solar farm will go toward community programs for language preservation, family services, education and housing.

“We have many social needs and we have the economic benefits of the power purchase agreement with BC Hydro [will provide] The United States’ opportunities to fund many of those that are currently chronically underfunded,” Manuel said.

Heidi Kolodniski says it doesn’t take something as ambitious as a big solar project to make a difference. Kolodniski is a city councilman in Bauline, NL, home to about 500 people.

She says the city’s new in-town composting program prevents a third of Bauline’s organic waste from becoming methane, and that’s having an impact on the climate and the community.

“There’s a veteran resident in town who doesn’t even believe in climate change, and he’s there composting,” Kolodniski said. “You change people’s behavior and then you change their minds.”

How can the government support?

Hole says his community is trying to do the little things. They recycle. People try to walk where they can instead of driving.

But he says more politicians need to visit and spend time in small towns so they can better understand what rural Canadians are dealing with.

“I think the provincial and federal governments should be more responsible,” Hole said.

Kolodniski takes it a step further. She says people who live in small towns and rural areas should get involved in politics themselves, as she did.

“Show up to your board meetings and listen to what they’re talking about and the ways they’re making decisions, because one person can absolutely change a narrative on a board,” Kolodniski said.

“I think that needs to happen in a lot of our small towns in Canada.”