Broadening Ontario's Climate Change Policy Discussion
| 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. | ||
In our most recent annual GHG Progress Report, the ECO noted that Ontario’s GHG reduction targets,
while more ambitious than those in many other jurisdictions in North America, could not be considered
“aggressive” given the growing scientific consensus that “aggressive” targets out to 2020 are more likely
to be considered in the range of 25 to 40 per cent below 1990 levels. This is discussed in Section 2.1 below.
In our Annual Report 2008/2009: Building Resilience, the ECO expressed concerns about the Ministry of Natural Resources’ forest biofibre policy, and its focus on using biofibre for energy production. The ECO felt that this policy could lead to a short-term carbon “surge” by releasing “large amounts of CO2 that will not be re-sequestered for decades.” This issue is explored in more depth in Section 2.2.
In last year’s GHG Progress Report, the ECO supported the government’s intention to establish a process for verification of CCAP results. Section 2.3 provides a discussion of key verification principles that will have application to the CCAP.
The ECO’s first Annual Energy Conservation Progress Report – 2009 (Volume One) echoes concerns expressed in last year’s GHG Progress Report that other transportation demand management policy levers, including road pricing, need serious public debate if transportation-related GHG emissions are to be reduced. Section 2.4 elaborates on possible areas of focus.
Finally, Section 2.5 offers a discussion of the broader policy options and implications of putting a transparent price on carbon, including a comparison of a cap-and-trade system and a carbon tax, and their potential to assist the government in achieving its GHG reduction targets.
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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. 9
