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<p>Hi GRENers,</p>
<p>I started going through the survey and it's daunting to say the
least. Below are responses from CAPE's Ontario co-chair to assist.
The link she included also has short and sweet info if you're
time-crunched or if it's all just too much. <br>
</p>
<p>Susan K<br>
</p>
<div class="moz-forward-container"><br>
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Hello All,
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">Please take a look at this important Govt of Canada
public consultation to help shape Canada’s critically important
2030 Emissions Reductions Plan to be established by the Minister
of Environment and Climate Change. The ministry is obligated to
consult publicly and to publish a response report to submissions
after reviewing so a very worthwhile endeavour in which to
participate.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">If you are able, please complete and urgently
distribute throughout your networks to amplify the response
rate. As it may be a bit time-consuming the questions and some
sample responses are posted below the survey link if anyone
wishes to use or build upon to save time. </div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class=""><b class="" style="font-size: 14px;">Please act soon
as survey closes Jan 14 2022 and may be accessed at:</b></div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class=""><a
href="https://eccc.sondage-survey.ca/f/LanguageSelection.aspx?s=4132165a-69ff-455b-9208-24be193aa656"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext" style="font-size: 14px;"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://eccc.sondage-survey.ca/f/LanguageSelection.aspx?s=4132165a-69ff-455b-9208-24be193aa656</a></div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">Thank you</div>
<div class="">Dr. Mili Roy</div>
<div class="">Co-chair CAPE Ontario</div>
<div class="">(Canadian Assn of Physicians for the Environment)</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">Copy of Survey questions & my sample responses
below:</div>
<div class="">(More detailed extensive supporting submission
information may be found at: <a
href="https://link.climatemessengers.ca/consult"
target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://link.climatemessengers.ca/consult</a> )</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">
<div class="">
<h1 class="headerTitle"><span id="ctl00_lblSurveyTitle"
class="">Engagement on Canada’s 2030 Emission Reduction
Plan – Public Submission Portal</span></h1>
</div>
Q1
<h2 id="qt-jGUAelLyHk" class="question-title">What opportunities
do you think the Government of Canada should pursue to reduce
emissions by 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2030 and position
Canada to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, including in any
or all of the following economic sectors? Please elaborate on
your answers where appropriate, including any specific
insights on policy opportunities or initiatives.</h2>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
BUILDINGS: Stringent new building codes to mandate Net Zero
standards. Deep retrofit subsidies to bring existing buildings
to new net zero standards while creating green employment to do
so. Increase multi-unit dwellings & avoid urban sprawl in
new builds as per urban design principles of population
intensification.
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">ELECTRICITY: Rapid transition off fossil fuels to
clean renewable energy sources for electricity including rapid
complete coal phase-out, transition off natural gas and avoid
new nuclear energy spending as the huge costs of nuclear
commitment are better spent on hydro, wind, solar
options. Also avoid funding blue hydrogen sources.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">HEAVY INDUSTRY INCLUDING OIL & GAS: Immediate
end to any new oil & gas exploration, new project
approvals including any further pipeline extensions (eg
Transmountain, Coastal Gaslink) and oil/gas exports. Stop all
oil and gas subsidies and re-direct the immense revenues that
will be liberated into renewable non-greenhouse gas emitting
energy sources, including just transition for oil & gas
workers to new sustainable employment.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">TRANSPORTATION: Electrify the entire
transportation fleet including private, public and commercial
vehicles as well as rail systems. This will mean investing in
huge expansion of charging infrastructure (= huge business +
employment opportunities). Policy makers and public must be
aware of environmental risks of EV battery production (eg
mining rare metals) - batteries should preferentially be
designated for public modes of transport active & in use
most of the time (eg bus, train) rather than sitting idle (eg
private car).</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">AGRICULTURE: A large portion of our GHG emissions
are generated by agriculture, compounded by food waste and
meat consumption. Need a broad transition to regenerative
farming techniques with Indigenous consultation where possible
and public education to decrease food waste and promote
plant-based diets. Other investment to decrease food waste
such as subsidizing food bank connectivity with food chain
suppliers.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">NATURE BASED CLIMATE SOLUTIONS: Enact strong
binding legislation proofed against future
administration/government changes to protect a minimum of 30%
of all greenspace, wetlands, freshwater and ocean reserves.
Public education programs re critical importance of threatened
biodiversity to human survival; the role of greenspace in
absorbing carbon & role of wetlands in absorbing
environmental toxins; role of nature in human physical and
mental health.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">ECONOMY-WIDE: MUST rapidly enact well-managed
broad-based carbon pricing. Educate public and policy makers
that carbon pricing with revenue properly cycled back to lower
emitters (eg families, individuals) is the most rapidly
effective and lowest cost tool that exists to fight climate
change. Combine with subsidizing green sustainable
innovation, entrepreneurship, finance, education which also
stimulates green sustainable employment. Promote circular
economy principles to reduce waste and carbon intensity of the
economy (eg manufacturing).</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">OTHER: Increase oversight and standardized
regulations of Canada’s big banks and lending institutions to
end non-governmental subsidization of heavy GHG emitters.
Simultaneously enact legislation to restrict these emitters
from turning to private lending/capital</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">Q2: <b class="" style="font-size: 14px;">What do
you see as the barriers or challenges to reducing emissions
in these sectors? Do you have suggestions on how to overcome
these barriers?</b></div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">Oil & gas sector lobby against emissions
reductions. Politicization of issues that are in fact
universal and will hurt us all if not tackled. Apathy and/or
lack of public awareness including amongst leaders and policy
makers regarding the true urgency and scale of the threats of
climate crisis and environmental issues facing us all and
massive scale of rapid transformation needed to address this.
The window of time to achieve this is closing but still
possible. Additionally Canada must not only meet its own
Glasgow target commitments but also advocate internationally
for countries not meeting targets to do so, including
supportive financing for developing nations unfairly bearing
the brunt of the crisis created mainly by affluent countries
such as Canada.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">Q3: </div>
<h2 id="qt-fxq0ta4bzC" class="question-title">What broader
economic, technological, or social challenges and
opportunities do you foresee resulting from efforts to reduce
emissions in these sectors? For example, opportunities
associated with economic diversification across sectors. Do
you have suggestions on how to address these challenges and
opportunities?</h2>
<div class="">The economic opportunities are boundless. It is a
matter of entrepreneurship, innovative thinking and
appropriately diverting start up financing and capital with an
entirely new mindset to move away from polluting, carbon
intensive economic activities and redirect to exclusively
green sustainable activities. Economists support this as the
best way forward as the cost of stranded high carbon assets,
faltering insurability of climate vulnerable activities, and
skyrocketing direct costs of escalating adverse climate
impacts simply cannot support sustainable economic prosperity
without urgently addressing climate change.</div>
<div class=""> Technology will play an immense role in the
massive global transformations that must be achieved to secure
a livable (near) future, in too many ways and too many roles
to identify each specifically or separately. It must be
acknowledged that the necessary technologies particularly to
transition our energy systems from fossil fuel based (coal,
oil, natural gas, etc) to clean renewable sources (wind,
solar, hydroelectric) are already existing. Setting a
historic precedent just recently, a renewable energy source
(solar) for the first time in history became the cheapest
energy source on the planet. The political and public will to
make the necessary changes rapidly with existing technology is
currently the greatest rate limiting step. Citing a lack of
currently available technology especially in carbon capture,
battery or alternative energy storage options, carbon metrics
calculations/formulae (eg as currently cited by some major
Canadian banks as a stumbling point to changing lending
practices) must not be used as justification for any delay in
acting. The window of opportunity to act is critically small
and actively closing. </div>
<div class=""> The social challenges to implement the
necessary changes will be complex and immense especially with
the urgent time lines dictated by current expert opinion being
less than a decade. Public awareness must be part of any plan
in order to have buy in. Broad public education campaigns
would likely be of value to enhance public co-operation rather
than opposition. This could improve the chances of a
government achieving climate mandates rather than being voted
out by a public not understanding the threats and solutions.
While the massive societal transformations required are a
huge opportunity to promote social justice and equity, it is
well understood the climate crisis disproportionately impacts
already marginalized and lower socioeconomic Canadians and the
economic impacts will be very uneven with total phase-out of
some industries while other sectors boom. It will be very
complex and critical to ensure these social and employment
impacts are modelled in advance and just transition measures
in place in a timely fashion, such as measures to re-deploy
workers from the fossil fuel sector.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">
<h2 id="qt-wYfm2etEch" class="question-title">Q4. Looking
beyond 2030, what enabling measures, strategies or
technological pathways do you think the Government of Canada
should put in place now to ensure that Canada is on track to
net-zero emissions by 2050?</h2>
<div class="">
<div class="">Multiple suggestions as already discussed
previously plus the following:</div>
<div class="">- ensure definition of "net-zero" is not
corruptible to greenwashing (eg cannot apply non-existent
carbon capture technology or insecure carbon credits such
as "double-counted" forestation projects which are then
destroyed by climate change fuelled wildfires, into
calculation projections) as some emitters are currently
doing to avoid actually decreasing emissions adequately</div>
<div class="">- create an absolute body or authority that
will be legislated to be proofed against dismantling at
the whim of a future government to be recognized by every
Canadian whether general public or policy maker. This
body should be multi-partisan to include seats for each
political party represented in Parliament combined with
reserved seats for experts (eg climate scientists,
economists, urban planners, healthcare experts,
agricultural experts, energy and transportation experts,
etc) plus a "citizens' corps" where all concerned
Canadians can participate virtually in providing input</div>
<div class="">- mandated periodic transparent widespread
public reporting of actual emissions, other relevant
figures/stats against the context of actual targets as set
by current criteria of that time period (eg Glasgow pact )</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">
<h2 id="qt-o47WzMeiUE" class="question-title">Q5. What broader
economic, technological, or social issues to you foresee as
a result of the transition to a net-zero economy in Canada?
Do you have suggestions on how to address these issues?</h2>
<div class="">If we achieve our targets and goals properly
this would be our chance at a secure livable future with
peace and prosperity with better socioeconomic equity. This
would represent hope for ourselves and the critical right to
a secure life for our children and future generations.
However it will not be enough to achieve these goals in
Canada, we must do our share to contribute climate financing
to developing nations damaged by climate change created by
wealthy countries such as Canada. We must also negotiate
internationally with affluent polluting nations to ensure
GHG emissions are reduced globally in order to be effective.</div>
<div class=""> The bigger question is the forseeable
future if we do not achieve our targets nationally and
globally. The planet's greatest authorities on this
including the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change) have made it starkly clear that if we fail, we face
uncontrolled climate collapse in our lifetimes and beyond
that will irrevocably alter human life on Earth with
unimaginable suffering, violence and unrest, food
insecurity, displacement and loss of life in the midst of
which we will longer have any choice or ability to act. Our
only time to act is now.</div>
</div>
</div>
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