Ontario’s Climate Change Action Plan – Annual Report 2007-2008
A Message from the Minister
of the Environment
Faced with the reality of world-wide climate change, governments today have a clear choice: do nothing; or embrace the transition to a low carbon, green future. Ontario has chosen to be a leader.
We are taking action.This is Ontario’s first annual report outlining what is being done to implement Ontario’s Climate Change Action Plan, our province’s blueprint for building this future.
Because this annual report is our first, it lays out the steps we have taken in the first year, from the launch of Ontario’s action plan in August 2007 to September 1, 2008. This report also outlines the challenges we face and the next steps we plan to take.
Challenging, Achievable Greenhouse Gas Reductions
The action plan, on which this report is based, compiles the wide range of provincial climate change programs that put Ontario at the forefront, with some of the most aggressive measures on the continent.
We set targets for reducing the greenhouse gases emitted in Ontario – ambitious, aggressive targets that will kick in as early as 2014. Our targets of a 6 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (based on 1990 levels) by 2014, a 15 per cent reduction by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050 are all challenging but achievable, even though emissions today are higher than 1990 levels. The report also describes the policies, programs, partnerships and future initiatives that we will use to combat climate change, and make Ontario a cleaner, greener place to live, work, raise our families and grow.
These targets are goals that we can – indeed must – reach. This will require a concerted effort across Ontario and the support of our federal government. All of us will have to do our part and work together, and all of us should do this now.
We have announced programs for industry, businesses, Ontario families and individuals, both on the job and at home. We have established the structures to achieve our greenhouse gas reduction goals; we are on target to phase-out coal-fired electricity generation as required by provincial regulation; we have taken bold steps to protect Ontario’s Northern Boreal Forest and our southern green space; and we are implementing the largest public transportation initiative in Ontario’s history: MoveOntario 2020. The government has streamlined the Environmental Assessment process to ensure that these transportation initiatives get underway in a timely fashion. And we have launched programs and partnerships to work together with other provinces, U.S. jurisdictions and the federal government.
Adaptation is another key part of Ontario’s climate change plan, and we are committed to working across all levels of government and sectors to address this multi-faceted issue. In December 2007, I appointed an Expert Panel on Climate Change Adaptation, which will provide the province with advice on adaptation strategies.
Keeping Track
This report will come out every year to ensure accountability to the Legislature and the people of Ontario on progress in achieving the climate change goals we set out in the action plan. Government actions on climate change must be both effective and transparent. All Ontario residents have a right to know what their government is doing, how it is working and what we can do as individuals and families to help solve the problem. Ontario’s Environmental Commissioner will provide additional transparency by conducting an independent review of the government’s progress.
To coordinate Ontario’s government-wide actions on climate change, in February 2008, the government set up the Climate Change Secretariat. Ontario’s actions on climate change involve all provincial ministries and agencies. The Secretariat works across government, focusing efforts and ensuring the effectiveness of provincial policies and programs. Our ministry looks forward to continued close collaboration with the Secretariat to work toward our common goals – a collaboration that is well underway with the publication of this annual report.
Working Together
Dealing with climate change effectively is fundamental to protecting and enhancing the high quality of life we enjoy in Ontario. We have so much going for us – there’s no place like this. Our province has an abundance of natural resources and a highly-skilled, educated and innovative workforce. Working together to go green, we can build a stronger, low carbon future.
Our current initiatives have laid the foundation, but there are still gaps and we will have to do more to: increase our adoption of energy conservation and renewables; reduce the barriers to action in our homes and on our farms; encourage improved transportation fuels and vehicles; reposition our industry for a low carbon future; enable more action in the broader public service; and develop partnerships for transition and the transfer of technologies from concept to practical use.
To identify a full range of opportunities, we’ll be counting on the advice we get from the Premier’s Climate Change Advisory Panel and from citizens across the province. We’re in this together, and we’ll need to keep working together – the Ontario government, businesses, communities, families and individuals – to build a more prosperous society and a better, brighter, greener future.
John Gerretsen
Minister of the Environment
Government of Ontario
>> Download Ontario’s Climate Change Action Plan – Annual Report 2007-2008.
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