Broadening Ontario's Climate Change Policy Agenda Context
| In May, 2010, the ECO released its second Annual Report on the progress of activities in Ontario to reduce or make more efficient use of electricity, natural gas, propane, oil and transportation fuels. Click here for more information on this report, including videos and communications materials. | ||
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Changing the ECO’s Reporting Date
In December 2009, the ECO released our first Annual Greenhouse Gas Progress Report (GHG Progress Report) very soon after the government released its Climate Change Action Plan Annual Report 2008-09 (CCAP Annual Report 2008-09). While there is some value in issuing our greenhouse gas (GHG) progress reports on the heels of the government’s CCAP annual reports, the ECO has reached the conclusion that the public interest would be better served if our reports are issued in the spring. By moving to a later release, the ECO will be in a position to more thoroughly review, respond to, and make future recommendations relating to any reports issued by the government.
As well, this change in the ECO report release date will allow the ECO to utilize the most recent GHG emissions data for Ontario, and report in a timely fashion on the province’s annual progress towards its GHG reduction targets, as provincial emissions data is released by the federal government annually in April. Accordingly, in the future the ECO will release our annual GHG progress report each spring and our reporting period will be based on the government’s most recent CCAP report.
Climate Change Action Plan Annual Report 2008-09
In 2007, the government introduced its Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP). Within the plan, three GHG reduction targets were established:
- 6 per cent below 1990 levels by 2014;
- 15 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020; and
- 80 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050.
These targets were reiterated in the government’s CCAP Annual Report 2008-09.3 In order to reach the first, short-term target, Ontario must reduce its emissions to 165 megatonnes (Mt) and, by 2020, must reduce emissions to 149 Mt.4 Within its CCAP Annual Report 2008-09, the government described several current and planned initiatives that are forecast to reduce emissions in the years ahead. In total, the government forecasts these initiatives will deliver reductions of 34.4 Mt by 2014 and 43.8 Mt by 2020.5 Based on the initiatives identified to date, however, these reductions will not be sufficient for the government to reach its targets. The initiatives will bring the province 71 per cent of the way towards its 2014 target, and 56 per cent of the way towards its 2020 target.6 The ECO noted in our last progress report that the government must find more GHG reduction tools for its CCAP toolkit to close these short- term and medium-term gaps.
As of May 2010, the ECO was unaware of any further initiatives planned by the government for its GHG reduction toolkit. This is not to say, however, that new initiatives are not being reviewed and assessed.
With the passage of the Green Energy and Green Economy Act, 2009 and the introduction of the Feed-in Tariff program by the Ontario Power Authority (combined with its previous commitment to phase-out coal), the government has signaled its strong intention to shift away from fossil fuels for electricity generation. The ECO awaits the announcement of further initiatives in other sectors beyond electricity and will review and comment on them in our next progress report to be released in the spring of 2011.
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Citing This Article:
Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. 2010. Annual Greenhouse Gas Progress Report 2009/2010: Broadening Ontario's Climate Change Policy Agenda. Toronto, ON : Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. pp. 3-4
