The Clean Air Council (CAC) Summit brought mayors, councillors, change agents, decision makers and sustainability leaders from across Southern Ontario together to share the message of the important role municipalities play in advancing clean air and climate change actions. The Clean Air Council is a network of 27 municipalities and health units who work collaboratively on the development and implementation of clean air and climate change mitigation and adaptation actions.
The 2015 CAC Declaration was also launched at the Summit and highlights the priority actions that CAC members will work together on to advance sustainable, livable communities by: reducing energy use, saving money and limiting emissions, making the movement of people and goods more efficient and making our communities healthier and more competitive and resilient.
Even if you weren’t able to join us we hope you can make use of the wonderful presentations and outcomes from the CAC Summit. Just click on the images to access videos and click on links to access presentations and reports.
Welcome from Glenn De Baeremaeker, Deputy Mayor, City of Toronto
Welcome from Jim Baxter, Director, City of Toronto Environment and Energy Office
Mel Cappe, Professor of Public Policy and Governance and Commissioner of Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission
Minister Glen Murray, Ontario Minister of Environment and Climate Change
Karen Clarke Whistler, Chief Environmental Officer at TD Bank: TD Bank: Incorporating Natural Capital Considerations into Decision Making (The Value of Urban Forests in Cities Across Canada) (Green Bonds: Victory Bonds for the Environment) (The Market Benefits of ‘Green’ Condos in Toronto)
Stephanie Cairns, Director for Sustainable Communities, Sustainable Prosperity & Amelia Clarke, School of Environment Enterprise and Development, University of Waterloo: Aligning Price Signals with Sustainable Community Plans ( Aligning Price Signals with Sustainable Community Plans )
Gabriella Kalapos, Clean Air Partnership, Municipal Climate Action Agenda and 2015 Clean Air Council Inter-governmental Declaration on Clean Air and Climate Change
Municipal Ecofiscal Realignment Case Studies
Geoff Lupton, City of Hamilton: Strategies for Getting Municipal Energy Initiatives Funded and Approved
Marco, Iacampo, City of Toronto: HELP, Green Development Standard and City of Toronto: Ecofiscal Policy Instruments in Action
Kailyn Smith, City of Vaughan: Turning Energy Use Inventories into Energy Dollar Inventories
Richard Forward, Barrie: Development Costs Analysis (speaking notes)
Christina Nagy-Oh, Town of Aurora: Economic Value of Natural Capital Assets
Municipal Champions for Climate Change Solutions
One of the key messages that came out of 2015 Clean Air Council Summit is the key role municipalities play in climate action and achieving the needed greenhouse gas reductions that are required to meet the Province’s greenhouse gas reduction targets.
- Over 60% of Ontario emissions originate in Ontario’s urban and suburban communities. 50% for buildings; 45% from transportation; and the balance from waste.
- Ontario cannot achieve its 2020, 2030 or ambitious 80% by 2050 target without concerted action within our communities.
- Based on the feedback heard from the Clean Air Council consultations undertaken in response to the Province’s Climate Change Discussion Paper, the Land Use Planning Review, as well as the climate change component of the Municipal Act Review, the key message that resonated through all those CAC consultations was that…..
- Opportunities can be realized by local governments, but there is an important role for provincial and federal governments to create the policy framework that will enable and empower municipalities to invest and innovate in climate change solutions.
- As such, CAC members want to develop a long term collaboration among municipalities, various Ontario ministries and Government of Canada departments to explore and advance low-carbon actions.
In order to try an ensure that this message is presented to the Provincial and Federal ministries and departments that are necessary to partner with in order to ensure the policies that would enable greater local government action are enacted, the idea of facilitating a Municipal Champions for Climate Change Solutions was presented to political representatives and was very well received. Clean Air Partnership has been undertaking interviews to gather input from political representatives on the possible actions and scope of the possible network. Some of the key findings of the feedback thus far are:
- there needs to be a variety of different mechanisms for engagement;
- it needs to focus on providing broad policy guidance and direction;
- it needs to connect with other similar networks to ensure coordination and not duplicate efforts.
Possible mechanisms for engagement can include:
- Signing on to a Municipal Champions for Climate Action Statement;
- Self-identification of priority policy action area groups
- Facilitated collaboration between provincial and municipal governments to communicate and advance mutual climate change objectives; and/or
- Leveraging climate change successes and insights through knowledge-sharing and mentoring among municipal politicians.
More information on this initiative will follow shortly in the meantime if you have any questions or feedback contact Gabriella at gkalapos@cleanairpartnership.org.