Campaign Against Bill 4, Cap and Trade Cancellation Act, 2018
The provincial government cancelled Cap and Trade, which directly impacted on the City's ability to fund and implement TransformTO.
Money raised from selling emission credits was used to fund climate initiatives such as repairing social housing, building subways lines like the relief line, and funding home and business retrofits that contribute to the goals of TransformTO. Without this funding TransformTO is in danger of being pared down or even cut.
ClimateFast sent a letter opposing Bill 4 to Minister of Environment Conservation and Parks, Rod Phillips.
Our climate is currently undergoing large scale changes: rising sea levels due to melting ice glaciers, intensification of storm systems leading to flash flooding, and rising temperatures causing a shift poleward in the animal and plant kingdoms.
The climate is also changing in Toronto as can be seen in the graph below. These changes including more heat alert days and higher incidence of flooding. City of Toronto has put together a webpage where you can learn more about these changes and their impacts on residents Extreme weather ahead.
Please visit the Toronto's Future Weather and Climate Driver Study to learn more about the graphic above.
These changes are due to the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, like methane, into the atmosphere primarily through the burning of oil and gas. To minimize the climatic changes that are occurring everyone including business and local, provincial and national governments are taking steps to decrease the amount of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere. In 2007, the City of Toronto released a Climate Change, Clean Air and Sustainable Energy Action Plan that called for a 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 with several interim targets.
Greenhouse emissions in Toronto have three main sources: buildings, transportation and waste which is shown in the figure below. Although the city will meet its 30% reduction by 2020, it will not reach its 80% target without accelerating efforts. With this in mind, the City of Toronto has released, two reports detailing how the city could reach its 80% reduction target. TransformTO Report #1 which outlines short term strategies and TransformTO Report #2 which outlines the long term transformational changes needed to ensure the 80% target is reached.
Although both reports have had unanimous council and public support, the City has failed to allocate funds for their implementation. The Council in early 2017 voted to only fund 20% or 3 recommendations from Report 1 for a total of $330,000. In July, the council voted to adopt the report 2. However, a motion was put forward to have the city analyze which of the recommendations proposed were, in the words of the Mayor the biggest return on investment. Again signalling the report would not be fully funded.
Our Goal
Climatefast opposes the cherry picking of the recommendations as City of Toronto will only reach its 80% reduction target if the entire package of recommendations is adopted. The estimated cost for 2018 is $2.5 million in 2018. For more information, financial estimates.
Climatefast is campaigning in advance of the Budget Committee meeting in March 2018 to have all recommendations funded in Report 2. Find out how you can get involved by clicking on the links below.
TOGETHER WE CAN DO THIS!
Children Join Growing Call to Fund TransformTO!
Click the image below to see the TransformTO video.
ClimateFast actions to support TransformTO
Read the TransformTO Committee recommendations
Valentine's Tea for the Mayor
Before the city of Toronto budget 2017 vote students of Thorncliffe Park Public School brought Valentines expressing their love for nature, for the city, and their concerns about climate change to City Hall for the Mayor and their City Councillor, Jon Burnside.
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Toronto's Climate Challenge
On April 4th 2020 people attended a presentation with Dianne Saxe, Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, at Toronto's City Hall. The theme of her talk was 'Facing Climate Change'.