| In the last few decades, senior levels of government have given Canadian cities more responsibilities but no commensurate financial powers. This coupled with the growing complexity of urban environmental problems and declining intergovernmental transfers mean that cities' ability to pay for environmental services like water and solid waste is becoming weaker. Against this background, policymakers and researchers alike have called for a review of current strategies for financing urban environmental programs, focusing on appropriate pricing and the use of financial incentives to encourage better resource use. However, questions still remain as to what opportunities actually exist in Canadian cities to apply these incentives and what challenges would have to be overcome in order to be successful.; Utilizing a review of literature, case study analysis and a survey of municipal staff (from cities with a population of 100,000 and over), this study examines the opportunities for and the barriers to the adoption of environmental fiscal initiatives within the context of an ecological modernisation process. Specifically, it examines the extent to which financial incentives can and have been used by Canadian municipalities to achieve higher environmental standards in the area of stormwater management, solid waste reduction and energy conservation. The findings suggest that although existing environmental and fiscal challenges provide significant opportunities for the widespread use of financial incentives, very few Canadian cities have done so. This is because of information, jurisdictional and capacity constraints imposed by national and subnational policy styles as well as existing governance arrangements. Based on these findings, the study calls for greater political will at all levels of government, municipal autonomy and capacity building, the clarification of existing legislation on municipal powers and responsibilities as well as intensive public education on the need for better environmental stewardship. |
