Ontario

Targets and Goals

On June 18, 2007, Ontario announced greenhouse gas (GHG) targets, demonstrating Ontario's commitment to fighting climate change:

• a reduction of GHGs to 6% below 1990 levels by 2014;
• a reduction of GHGs to 15% below 1990 levels by 2020;
• a reduction of GHGs to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.

Top Actions

Energy Efficiency

• In addition to energy efficiency standards under the Green Energy Act (GEA) (see Renewable Energy), Ontario is considering a regulation to ban the sale of inefficient light bulbs by 2012 (where alternatives exist in the market).
• Ontario is addressing energy efficiency in buildings with:
• • Changes to the Building Code in 2006 that introduced significant energy-efficiency requirements, with further changes being considered.
  • A CAD$122 million (US$115 million) investment in Ontario's Home Energy Audit and Retrofit Program to reduce energy consumption in homes.

Renewable Energy

• The landmark Green Energy Act (GEA), which received Royal Assent in May 2009, will boost investment in renewable energy projects and increase conservation, creating green jobs and economic growth in Ontario. It will eliminate many of the barriers previously faced by renewable energy developers and is part of Ontario's plan to become a leading green economy in North America. The GEA will:
• • Spark growth in clean and renewable sources of energy such as wind, solar, hydro, biomass and biogas in Ontario. The new feed-in-tariff (FIT) will provide a guarantee of market-viable prices for energy generated from these sources.
  • Create the potential for savings and better managed household energy expenditures through a series of conservation measures.
  • Establish energy efficiency standards for household appliances, making energy efficient products more available to more consumers.
  • Create and support 50,000 jobs for Ontarians in its first three years.
• Ontario has already brought about 1,200 megawatts of new renewable energy on-line since October 2003, enough to power almost 350,000 homes. Investments in renewable energy already in place or under construction in Ontario total over CAD$4 billion (US$3.8 billion).

Clean Transport

• The Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area integrates planning for local and regional transit, GO Transit, major roads and new transit infrastructure for the region. The CAD$11.5 billion (US$9.3billion) MoveOntario 2020 commitment, the largest public transit investment in Canadian history, forms the foundation investment for the priority transit projects identified by the RTP.
• The province supports environmentally-friendly and safe highway capable electric vehicles and announced a plan in 2009 to make them easier to purchase. The plan includes rebates of between CAD$4,000 (US$3,800) and CAD$10,000 (US$9,500) for plug-in hybrid electric and battery electric passenger vehicles based on the battery capacity of the vehicle. In addition, green vehicle licence plates will be provided that would allow electric vehicle drivers to use High Occupancy Vehicle (carpool) lanes even if they have one occupant in the vehicle.
• Ontario is committed to developing a low carbon fuel standard that will require carbon emissions from transportation fuels to decrease 10% by 2020.
• The Green Commercial Vehicle Program (GCVP) provides grants for the freight sector to promote alternative fuel vehicles and anti-idling devices. Reforms to Ontario's weight and dimension regulations for heavy duty vehicles include accommodation of fuel savings technologies. A Long Combination Vehicle (LCV) pilot project will move goods safely, at a lower cost and with fewer GHG emissions than single-trailer trucks. Mandatory speed limiter legislation, passed in 2008, limits heavy-duty truck speeds to 105 km/h and is expected to reduce GHG emissions annually by 280,000 tonnes.

Sustainable Land Use

• In 2006, Ontario released the Growth Plan for the Greater Horseshoe, a 25-year vision and plan for managing population and employment growth in the provinces largest urban area. The Growth Plan sets ambitious targets for creating higher density communities with a smaller environmental footprint and includes policies on transit-supportive community design and urban form which promote access to transit, walking, bicycling, and a reduction in automobile use.
• Ontario's Far North Planning Initiative will protect at least 225,000 square kilometres of the Far North Boreal region.
• The government is working with private landowners and community groups to plant 50 million trees on private and public lands in southern Ontario by 2020.
• The Ontario Biogas Systems Financial Assistance Program is a CAD$11.2 million (US$10.6 million) investment launched in 2007 to help farmers and agri-food businesses produce renewable energy.

Waste Management

• In June 2008, the government brought in requirements to phase-in methane collection and capture in local landfills, the source of 4% of Ontario's human-made GHG emissions in 2007. The landfill owners can either burn off the methane, reducing its global warming potential by 95%, or use it to generate electricity to sell to the provincial power grid.

Promoting Low Carbon Technology

• Because coal-fired electricity is one of the provinces most significant sources of GHG emissions, Ontario will cease to burn coal at its four remaining coal-fired generating stations by the end of 2014. Ontario is the first jurisdiction in North America with a regulation in place to eliminate coal-fired power. Coal replacement represents a reduction in GHG emissions of up to 30 megatonnes - the single largest GHG reduction initiative in Canada.
• Ontario is pursuing an aggressive Innovation Agenda, which includes funds to promote the transition to a green economy. The province is investing significantly in peer-reviewed research that will create jobs and a cleaner environment.
• In 2008, the government launched the CAD$1.15 billion (US$1.09 billion) Next Generation of Jobs Fund which includes support for the development and commercial sale of clean cars, clean fuels and clean technologies in Ontario.

Fiscal Measures and Market-Based Mechanisms

• On June 2, 2008, Ontario signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Quebec to collaborate on a regional cap-and-trade systemfor GHGs. The two provinces will work together to make their approach compatible with other cap-and-trade systems that are emerging in North America and around the world.
• Ontario participates in:
• • The Climate Registry, a U.S. collaboration aimed at developing and managing a common GHG emissions reporting system.
  • The International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP), made up of countries and regions that have implemented or are actively pursuing the implementation of carbon markets through mandatory cap and trade systems.
  • The Western Climate Initiative (WCI), a collaboration of seven U.S. governors and four Canadian Premiers with the objective of reducing GHG emissions 15% below 2005 levels by 2020 through development of multi-sector, market-based mechanisms including a regional cap and trade program.
  • Ontario also participates as an observer in two other regional GHG cap-and-trade initiatives - the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord (MGGRA).

Legislation

• In May 2009, the province brought forward enabling legislation on a cap-and-trade system. The provinces goal is to develop a program that can link with other trading systems and ensure maximum trading opportunities for industries.

Contact Information

Adam Redish
Director, Air Policy and Climate Change Branch
135 St Clair Ave W
Toronto ON M4V1P5
Phone: 416-314-8562
Fax: 416-314-4128
Email: adam.redish@ontario.ca
http://www.ontario.ca/environment

Key Links

Ministry of the Environment, Climate Change

Ontarios Action Plan on Climate Change

Ontario's Climate Change Action Plan Annual Report 2007-08

Ontario Cap and Trade