Ontario Construction News staff writer
Toronto council adopted an ambitious strategy to reduce community-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Toronto to net zero by 2040 – 10 years earlier than initially proposed. Only three large cities in North America have committed to the 2040 target.
Toronto’s Net Zero Carbon Plan
The strategy identifies actions and targets to be achieved by 2030 in key sectors, including buildings, transportation and waste:
- Demonstrate carbon accountability locally and globally, by establishing a carbon budget for its own operations and the community as a whole.
- Accelerate a rapid and significant reduction in natural gas use.
- Establish performance targets for existing buildings across Toronto.
- Increase access to low-carbon transportation options, including walking, biking, public transit and electric vehicles.
- Increase local renewable energy to contribute to a resilient, carbon-free grid
The strategy triggers new and accelerated implementation actions to drive down community-wide emissions, particularly in the short term, and establishes the trajectory needed to reach net zero by 2040.
“The window for climate action is narrowing and we intend to move forward quickly to ensure greener buildings, greener vehicles, a greener transit system, and a cleaner, greener city overall. Achieving net zero by 2040 will ensure we can continue to be a prosperous, liveable, and thriving city,” said Mayor John Tory.
Meeting the GHG reduction targets requires rapid action to scale up existing programs and significant levels of investment and coordination with other levels of government.
Toronto is currently on track to achieve its 2020 GHG emissions reduction target of 30 per cent, from 1990 levels. Community-wide emissions have decreased by 38 per cent since 1990, despite a significant growth in population, and while Toronto’s gross domestic product (GDP) continued to rise. Like other major cities globally, the city issues its emissions inventory on a two-year lag cycle, to ensure the best available data. Toronto’s 2020 GHG Inventory will be released in 2022.
The primary sources of GHG emissions in Toronto are homes and buildings (57 per cent), mainly from burning natural gas to heat space and water; transportation (36 per cent), mainly from gasoline used in personal vehicles; and waste (seven per cent), mainly from methane released in landfills.
The city controls only a small portion of Toronto’s community-wide emissions directly – nearly five per cent according to the most recent GHG inventory. Achieving the targets in the Strategy will require additional federal and provincial investment and support, as well as support for Toronto’s residents and businesses.
Key city programs, policies and strategies already in place to reduce emissions from key sources including the Net Zero Existing Buildings Strategy to significantly reduce the use of fossil fuels in all existing residential, commercial and institutional buildings within the next 30 years.
The Net Zero Carbon Plan aims to reduce emissions from more than 2,500 city-owned buildings (approximately 9.5 million square metres) by at least 80 per cent by 2040.