Fraction of Nova Scotia’s Green Fund spent on climate change programs: auditor – Halifax

Only a fraction of a Nova Scotia government fund established to combat climate change has been spent on solving the problem, the province’s auditor general revealed in an audit released Tuesday.

Kim Adair said a performance audit of the Green Fund, established in 2019, found almost $74 million was transferred out of the fund over its first two years of operation, but only $11.9 million was spent on climate change programs.

The bulk of the money — about $60 million — was left sitting in “program partner” bank accounts, Adair said.

Her report says it remains unclear why the Department of Environment and Climate Change handed millions of dollars to non-government parties before the money was needed to deliver Green Fund initiatives.

“Removing it from provincial control … reduces the flexibility government has in redirecting funds to targeted areas,” Adair said in a statement.

“We expected to see strong and responsive monitoring considering the program partners have all the money up front, but the department is not effectively monitoring or reviewing the performance of Green Fund programs.”

Adair says the audit highlights the importance of providing funding only as needed to ensure it’s used for its intended purpose.

The Green Fund was set up to collect revenue from Nova Scotia’s cap-and-trade program, which allowed companies to emit greenhouse gases so long as they purchased emissions allowances.

Last fall, the Nova Scotia government tabled legislation for a new emissions-reduction plan that would replace its cap-and-trade system.

The auditor general’s report includes six recommendations for change, all of which should be considered as the government shifts to a new Nova Scotia Climate Change Fund, Adair said.

In response, the government issued a statement Tuesday saying it had already accepted all of Adair’s recommendations.

Environment and Climate Change Minister Timothy Halman said the changes will “improve the monitoring, reporting, procurement and administration of our funding programs and strengthen and improve the transparency of our work.”

The province has set a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 53 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, and to be net-zero by 2050.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 28, 2023.

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