Ontario, our green neighbors to the north, just unveiled the Green Energy and Green Economy Act proposal that will infuse the Canadian province with renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements.

The Green Energy and Green Economy Act, 2009 (GEA), promises to bring more renewable energy to the province and create more energy efficiency measures, as announced Tuesday by John Wilkinson, governor of Ontario, at the Cleantech Forum XXI in San Francisco.

Ontario's current administration was voted in on the platform that they would eliminate coal-based energy, which still comprises 23 percent of its energy base. But now the government wants to really ramp up its environmental policy with ideas gleaned from other countries around the world. The plan includes a feed-in-tariff that will require utilities to purchase renewable energy at above-market rates, modeled after Germany’s successful policy.

The bill boasts some wonderful community-engaging features. The province plans on building a smart grid, and will assist developers of small community-owned generation facilities and make it easier for them to connect to the grid. Homeowners will be able to access small-scale renewables and low- or no-interest loans to finance the up-front costs of renewable power such as solar panels or wind turbines. Everyone would also have a right to connect to the grid.

Engaging with the community is really the best way to change a group’s mindset and gather grassroots, widespread support for renewable energy.

Green building is a key component of the bill, as it would require efficiency reviews of buildings every five years to identify areas where energy efficiency could be improved. This change to the province’s building code would provide major enforcement and drive energy retrofits in the built environment. Similarly, every new building in the public sector, such as schools, hospitals and municipal buildings, must meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver standards. And every appliance sold in Ontario must meet Energy Star requirements.

These are huge steps towards a sustainable future that every country must take – not just provinces, towns and states. There should be no future for continuing to produce  energy-sucking appliances and inefficient buildings. Government regulation such as proposed in Ontario are great examples of strict and progressive policies.