[GREN-Exec] GREN Comments on Region’s 5-year review of the Regional Official Plan and climate change policy paper

Sat Feb 13 20:15:42 EST 2021

Hi Susan,

Excellent article as always!  Great comments from Mark Carney - he is really moving the needle on climate change.  I don’t have any suggestions other than to keep up the great writing.

Stay safe.

Cheers,
Kevin.

-------------------------------------

Kevin Thomason

1115 Cedar Grove Road
Waterloo, Ontario Canada  N2J 3Z4

Phone: (519) 888-0519
Mobile Phone/WhatsApp: (519) 240-1648
Twitter: @kthomason
E-mail: kevinthomason at mac.com

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> On Feb 13, 2021, at 3:29 PM, Susan Bryant <shbryant at uwaterloo.ca> wrote:
> 
> Hi Susan-
> 
> It looks just right to me, Susan. Encouraging people to read the Region's policy paper on CC--and maybe even comment-- is the main thing in this context.
> 
> Re: drafting GREN comments, I'm finding not much to criticize in the policy paper. The policies are pretty great on the whole, but of course they need to resource and implement them effectively. 
> 
> My one observation is that there's very little on the agricultural sector, which, with its huge land base here, offers rich opportunity for enhancing resilience to and mitigation of climate change. The paper notes that other than preserving the countryside line, the Region leaves agriculture to the Township governments--which have really limited resources. I'm talking to a few farmers to see what they have to say about how local gov'ts might help them thrive while reducing their footprint and providing enviro services for everyone. We'll see. Ideas anyone?
> 
> Susan B
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> From: Executive <executive-bounces at gren.ca> on behalf of Susan Koswan <susankoswan at execulink.com>
> Sent: Saturday, February 13, 2021 2:56 PM
> To: GREN Executive
> Subject: Re: [GREN-Exec] GREN Comments on Region’s 5-year review of the Regional Official Plan and climate change policy paper
>  
> DRAFT - do not share
> I did not want to put words in GREN's mouth before we actually write and agree on what we're submitting, so just threw in my 2 bits at the end. 
> This is the draft of what I'm submitting. If there's anything glaringingly missing, let me know by Sunday night. 
> Thanks,
> Susan K 
> 
> Deep Decarbonization
> Submitted for Feb 18/21
> By Susan Koswan
> The flipside to the Deep Adaptation coin is Deep Decarbonization. That means both stopping the release of new greenhouse gasses and drawing down what we’ve already released. We can no longer afford incremental changes. 
> The Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii has been measuring <https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/seasonal-to-decadal/long-range/forecasts/co2-forecast-for-2021> carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere since 1958. This year carbon dioxide levels  are expected to reach 417 parts per million which is, “more than 50% higher than when humanity began large-scale burning of fossil fuels in the industrial revolution in the late 18th Century.” 
> Anyone even still considering the goal of 350.org?
> What about the goal of not exceeding a 1.5° or 2°C rise in global temperature? That is only possible if we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions 30 to 40 percent by 2030, 60 to 80 percent by 2050 and 100 percent after that. So far, we’ve missed every target that’s been set to avoid climate breakdown.
> In November 2020, the Trudeau government introduced Bill C-12 <https://parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/43-2/bill/C-12/first-reading> the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act with the goal to “achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.” Net-zero or carbon-neutral does not mean eliminating greenhouse gas emissions; it means counterbalancing emissions against what we can absorb or sequester.  
> Climate Action Network Canada <https://climateactionnetwork.ca/2020/11/25/technical-recommendations-for-bill-c-12-the-net-zero-emissions-accountability-act/> has a good, high level analysis of the bill, and will provide updates as the bill makes its way through the legislature. They recommend improved accountability, a carbon budget, inclusion of Indigenous peoples and workforce, meaningful and actionable incremental targets and checkpoints, and robust and timely reporting. As well, the Advisory Body should be comprised of independent experts and de-politicized. 
> There is no end to expertise on what we need to do. A 2015 report <https://electricity.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DDPP_CAN.pdf> by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) clearly laid out a plan for Canada to meet our targets. The Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in Canada named six pathways that were both “technically and economically feasible” now:
> ·       Decarbonized electrification
> ·       Improving energy productivity
> ·       Reduce, cap and utilize non-energy emissions
> ·       Move to zero emission transport fuels
> ·       Decarbonize industrial processes
> ·       Structural economic change
> An interview <https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/mark-carney-investing-net-zero-climate-solutions-creates-value-and-rewards> with Mark Carney, former head of the Bank of Canada, was surprisingly optimistic. Now the Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance with the United Nations, Carney sees the dialogue in private finance shifting. The climate crisis is no longer considered a risk, but an opportunity, “to move our economies to net zero as quickly as possible.” 
> Based on the mantra of “what gets measured gets managed” Carney said measuring climate impact, with carbon budgets for example, has to be mandatory. Investors want to and have to know if their money is supporting the problem or the solution. As much as I dislike putting a dollar sign on everything, our economic system is a critical tool to achieving our goals. Like Cindy Lauper sang back in 1984, Money Changes Everything.
> Carney emphasized that it is up to every single one of us to keep up the pressure and question our bankers, politicians and businesses to find out what they’re doing to get to net-zero.
> A good place to start is the Region of Waterloo policy paper on climate action, that’s part of the five-year review of the official plan. You can comment <https://www.engagewr.ca/regional-official-plan/news_feed/climate-action-discussion-paper-and-survey> on the Engage Waterloo website until February 28, 2021. The goal is to reduce the region’s emissions 80 percent below 2010 levels by 2050. Bear in mind that our regional government’s power is limited to, “providing leadership; coordinating among stakeholders; developing and monitoring a clear and consistent policy framework; setting region-wide standards; and facilitating Regional and local action.”
> Much of the paper is focused on urban densification with neighbourhood nodes that ideally provide most, if not all, the goods and services you need within 15 minutes; active and public transportation; and green and forested spaces. 
> Both ClimateActionWR <https://climateactionwr.ca/climate-action-plans/> and the grassroots www.50by30wr.ca <http://www.50by30wr.ca/> are your local connections to climate action to learn how to be part of the solution not the problem. 
> But I fear, with transportation alone accounting for half of our greenhouse gas emissions (at least in Waterloo Region), we stand little chance of averting a climate crisis until we ban the sale and use of gas-powered vehicles. The Coltura <https://www.coltura.org/world-gasoline-phaseouts> website has a list of places around the world attempting to do just that. 
>  
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>  
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