Toronto council approves climate change plan with 2040 net-zero carbon emissions target
Posted December 15, 2021 6:11 pm.
Toronto has set new targets to combat climate change. On Tuesday afternoon city council voted in favour of a strategy to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. That’s ten years earlier than the previous plan.
The TransformTO Net Zero Strategy aims to reduce emissions in the city by 45 per cent over the next four years. By 2030, emissions will be cut by 65 per cent.
To reach the new targets the city is planning on establishing new rules in five key areas, including:
- Accelerating a reduction in the use of natural gas.
- Setting performance targets for existing buildings.
- Creating a carbon budget.
- Increasing access to low-carbon transportation options.
- Increasing renewable energy.
City staff say 56 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in Toronto come from homes and buildings. Most of that pollution is created from burning natural gas to heat indoor spaces, and water.
The TransformTo strategy includes reducing Toronto’s reliance on natural gas. To do so the City will begin using more electricity, and that could come at an increased cost to residents. In a recent report, Toronto Hydro found that system capacity will need to be expanded in order to reach net zero targets. The public utility says that investment could cost up to $10 billion by 2050.
Because of this, residential customers could see rate increases of 8 to 9 per year from 2025 to 2029. That’s four times higher than the historical 2 per cent rate of inflation. The increases won’t stop there either, from 2030 to 2034, Toronto residents could see hydro bill increases of 5 to 6 per year on average.
Toronto Hydro says it isn’t all bad, and residents could end up finding savings in other areas as we move to a greener economy.
“Over time, customers may see reductions in other types of energy bills for example, as they fuel-switch to electricity, customers may experience cost reductions for gasoline and natural gas,” Toronto Hydro said.
The TranformTO plan was initially approved by Toronto council unanimously in 2017. The City moved to accelerate the strategy after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that carbon neutrality must be reached by 2050 to keep global temperature rises below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Before the vote Tuesday, Mayor John Tory reaffirmed his support for the move. “I believe this is the defining issues of our generation.” Tory said. “We will not see quality of life sustained in this city and elsewhere in the country and the world if don’t take every step possible to address it.”
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