Ontario: Annual Greenhouse Gas Progress Report 2014

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The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario released "Looking for Leadership, The Costs of Climate Inaction, his 2014 report on the government ’s progress in reducing greenhouse gases (GHG) and meeting the reduction targets contained in its Climate Change Action Plan.

The report shows that the government will likely meet its 2014 target (a 6% reduction in emissions below 1990 levels) largely because of the shutdown of the province’s coal plants. "But it’s not going to meet its 2020 target," says Miller, "because it has taken very little additional action to implement the Climate Change Action Plan it released seven years ago.

The Environmental Commissioner point out that transportation, mainly cars and trucks, is the biggest source of GHG emissions in the province. "The 2007 Action Plan said the government would reduce transportation emissions by 19 megatonnes (Mt) by 2020. That goal, unfortunately, has now been cut by almost 80%. I have been given no reason why, and no explanation about what the Ontario government plans to do instead."

Miller says the province has lost the leadership position it once had. "British Columbia has brought in a carbon tax; Quebec has implemented a cap-and-trade system for carbon credits. Meanwhile, Ontario appears to have lost the ambition it once had and won’t even look at directives to ensure more compact urban development or a serious commitment to using electricity for transportation.

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