How is Ontario Doing on Climate Change?

English: GHG emission per capita in metric tons per person for each country in 2005. Data is from the CAIT 8.0 dataset. CO2 equivalent emissions from land use change and emissions of CO2,CH4,N2O,PFC,HFC, and SF6 are included. Bunker fuel (aka ships) is not. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A Question of Commitment - Review of the Ontario Government’s Climate Change Action Plan Results(88 page pdf, Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, Dec. 4, 2012) 

Today we review the annual report from the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario (ECO) to the provincial legislature. The 2012 report questions the government’s commitment to meet the goals it proposed in 2007, after assessing progress to date toward those goals. It is unfortunate that the role of cities which make up by far the greatest population of Ontario- the two largest cities, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and the City of Ottawa make up over 50% of the total. Most of the increased emissions in the transportation sector, a key emissions component, come from road traffic, an area where cities have most mandate and ability to control – with cooperation from the province. Road pricing comes to mind and here the ECO is only thinking of improved public transit without looking at revenue and air quality benefits.

Key Quotes: 

“With the release of its Climate Change Action Plan in August 2007, the Government of Ontario made a commitment to play a leadership role in the province’s transition toward a low-carbon future”

• "transportation sector, emissions resumed their upward trajectory in 2010
• industrial sector, development of the province’s planned cap-and-trade program remains stalled,
• building sector will likely see modest reductions
• agricultural sector, there is little evidence that the current voluntary approach… is having any demonstrable effect on emissions, particularly with respect to synthetic fertilizer use
• waste sector, the use of landfill gas capture systems is likely resulting in higher methane releases than are accounted for in the provincial greenhouse gas inventory
• conclusion..the current policy framework will only get Ontario just over half way toward the government’s 2020 target, leaving a projected ‘ambition gap’ of 30 megatonnes that will not be closed without new policy action in the eight short years that remain"

Recommendations:

• “ the Ministry of Energy establish electricity sector greenhouse gas intensity targets
• the Ministry of the Environment make all data submitted pursuant to the greenhouse gas reporting regulation publicly available on an annual basis
• the Ministry of the Environment develop a strategy to better control greenhouse gas emissions from substitutes for ozone-depleting substances in all applications throughout their life cycles….[and]implement a phased-in ban on the landfilling of all organic residuals
• the government conduct an analysis of the environmental, social and economic impacts of alternative carbon pricing mechanisms and release it to the public for discussion”

“Ontario has witnessed a rise in both the volume of motor gasoline sales and transportation-related GHG emissions since 1990…Of significance to GHG mitigation is the continued absence of a discussion of road pricing for the improved function and funding of public transit systems"

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