Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor Fall 2020 - 26

POLICY

A GREEN RECOVERY? GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE
POLICY GAINING TRACTION WORLDWIDE
BY OLIVER GILLINGS-PECK

The Covid-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on the intrinsic and delicate
relationship among health, biodiversity, and consumption patterns which
is why policymakers around the world are focusing on a 'green' recovery.

e know that part of the reason why highly infectious diseases like Covid-19 arise is an indirect result of too much
human interference with the natural world. Deforestation, climate change related disasters, and global wildlife
trade all degrade biodiversity, which is why we need policy and
action more than ever that enables biodiversity to flourish. Part
of recovering 'green' from the pandemic means the expansion
and maintenance of Green Infrastructure (GI) initiatives as GI
stands to bolster biodiversity plus provide a slew of additional
benefits.
Over the last six months Canada, the United States, and the
European Union (EU) have announced various plans to ensure
that GI is part of the 'green' recovery. At the beginning of August,
the Canadian Government announced the creation of a new
Covid-19 resilience stream under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP). The Covid-19 resilience stream opens
up $3.3 billion in funding which provides provinces and territories with the ability to initiate quick-start short-term projects
that otherwise may not have been eligible under the pre Covid-19
ICIP stream. This new Covid-19 resilience stream includes green
infrastructure, and features an expedited application process
allowing for multiple applications to be submitted at once and a
reduction of upfront administrative burdens on provinces and territories so that they can start new projects quickly. The maximum
total eligible cost of a single project is capped at $10 million and
will receive a percentage of federal contributions depending on
who is applying. Provinces, municipalities and provincial not-forprofit organizations can receive up to 80 per cent federal funding.
Territories, Indigenous recipients, municipalities and territorial
not-for-profit organizations can receive up to 100 per cent federal
funding. For-profit private sector recipients can receive up to 25
per cent in federal funding. A wide variety of infrastructure projects are eligible under this stream providing a great opportunity
for new and existing GI projects to be developed.
These changes are the result of advocacy carried out by Green
Infrastructure Ontario, a coalition of associations and environmental groups which includes GRHC, working with national
organizations.

LIVING ARCHITECTURE MONITOR / FALL 2020 / 24

THE ELIGIBLE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS INCLUDE:
Retrofits, repairs, and upgrades to government owned, health,
and indigenous buildings.
Covid-19 response infrastructure i.e. Measures to support social distancing.
Active transportation infrastructure.
Disaster mitigation and adaptation projects.
*Check out the 2019 "Social Equity Issue" of the LAM for an article about Green Roof's
application to Disaster mitigation and adaptation. *

In late August, I interviewed Luigi Petito, Head of the Secretariat for the EU chapter of the World Green Infrastructure Network (WGIN), a global coalition of GI Associations. I asked him
how the EU plans to be a part of the 'green' recovery. Petito was
excited to share some updates about new GI terminology being
inserted into the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 as a result of an
increasing understanding of the multiple benefits of GI. Indeed,
the final draft includes a summary of the benefits associated with
investing in GI, including green roofs. "It is incredibly important
to raise awareness about the benefits of Green Infrastructure like
Green Roofs. Green Roofs are a win-win-win because they provide environmental, social and economic benefits and are needed
now more than ever" said Luigi Petito. Members of WGIN EU
Chapter, such as Sempergreen, Knauf Insulation, and Optigruen
are working together to increase the awareness of green roofs and
their important contribution to the EU's Green Deal.
With the Covid-19 context, the narrative for the Biodiversity
Strategy for 2030 and the overall EU Green Deal, which aims
at carbon neutrality by 2050, has changed to include language
about the importance of building societies' resilience to future
climate change related disasters. This means investing some of
the €1.8 trillion Covid-19 recovery funds into developing and
Photo courtesy EU

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Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor Fall 2020

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