In the town of St-Amable, Que., it’s plant or pay up.
As of this year, the municipality located 30 kilometres northeast of Montreal is imposing an annual tax of $200 for residents who don’t have a leafy tree in their front yard, with a goal of reducing heat islands and improving biodiversity.
One public policy expert says using taxes to get people to be more green is a smart way to address environmental challenges—although not all residents agree with the town’s approach.
Jean-Sébastien Ménard, the town’s general manager, said the rule requiring a tree in every front yard has been on the books for years. But officials were moved to start enforcing it when they learned the results of a recent mapping project by Université Laval, which found the town was “highly exposed” to heat waves due in part to heat islands—buildings and patches of concrete or asphalt that raise temperatures higher than in surrounding areas….