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Canadian Carbon tax exemption on home heating oil sets climate policies back, advocates say (www.cbc.ca)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] AgedCheddar 7 points 1 year ago

Continuing to punish individuals for basic living needs isn't going to do anything more than continue to make life more unaffordable

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

In an ideal world, yes, we'd keep the carbon tax cranked. But fuck that. People with oil heaters would get off them if they could. If they're still on oil, there's probably a reason.

The current subsidies of heat pumps look like they're structured as loans. And they're complicated. Don't do that. Just install the damn heat pump for free, and call it a day.

[+] ClopClopMcFuckwad -1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

[deleted]

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

yeah i think it's like around -42 C that most of them you can't run anymore? so you need another heat source during times when you get that low, which up north is obviously more common

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Heat pumps are efficient at very low temperatures now, and are suitable for the vast majority of homes.

However, in the literal Arctic you probably will need an additional heat source. This could be resistive electric, but tbh so few people live that far north that I'd be fine with them using fossil fuels. Their emissions would be a rounding error on a global scale.

If we want to completely ban fossil fuels then biomass could be another option for the Arctic in winter.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

From the article, much of the heating oil use is in NB, PEI, and Nova Scotia. The Atlantic climate is well within the limits of heat pump use.

With toaster elements, heat pumps are effective for southern Ontario as well.

Northern communities, not so much.

[–] neanderthal 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think they should get an exemption as it is literally keeping them alive.

I think a better solution would be to heavily subsidize heat pumps, resistance furnaces, and electric space heaters and make them more cost effective to use. People will switch to save money. Of course the cost of electricity has to be significantly cheaper than the oil.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Electric furnaces are very common in Canada, though I don't think quite as common as oil/LNG.