Access to mechanical cooling—through energy-efficient heat pumps or air conditioning—is a public health necessity, not a luxury.
Investing in passive cooling solutions is an important step in building climate resiliency, but under-resourced communities need protection from extreme heat now.
Canada’s own National Adaptation Strategy names extreme heat as the deadliest weather-related threat. In B.C.’s 2021 heat dome, 619 people died. The vast majority were older adults who died indoors and lacked adequate cooling. Deaths were highest among those living in poor-quality housing in socially or materially deprived areas.
Focusing solely on passive cooling for low-income households, while leaving wealthier Canadians free to cool their homes however they choose, creates a two-tier climate policy. It is inequitable and unjust.
Climate resiliency and emissions reductions must go hand in hand, but mechanical cooling is essential for safe indoor temperatures. We must ensure that everyone—not just those who can afford it—has access to life-saving cooling technologies while also transitioning all homes, across all income levels, to low-carbon systems.
We cannot leave low-income people at risk in a climate crisis they did not cause.
This blog responds to a recent article published by CBC news.
Blog: Why AC Access is a Public Health Necessity, Not a Luxury
By: Jacqueline Wilson, Counsel, CELA
Access to mechanical cooling—through energy-efficient heat pumps or air conditioning—is a public health necessity, not a luxury.
Investing in passive cooling solutions is an important step in building climate resiliency, but under-resourced communities need protection from extreme heat now.
Canada’s own National Adaptation Strategy names extreme heat as the deadliest weather-related threat. In B.C.’s 2021 heat dome, 619 people died. The vast majority were older adults who died indoors and lacked adequate cooling. Deaths were highest among those living in poor-quality housing in socially or materially deprived areas.
Focusing solely on passive cooling for low-income households, while leaving wealthier Canadians free to cool their homes however they choose, creates a two-tier climate policy. It is inequitable and unjust.
Climate resiliency and emissions reductions must go hand in hand, but mechanical cooling is essential for safe indoor temperatures. We must ensure that everyone—not just those who can afford it—has access to life-saving cooling technologies while also transitioning all homes, across all income levels, to low-carbon systems.
We cannot leave low-income people at risk in a climate crisis they did not cause.
This blog responds to a recent article published by CBC news.
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