Liberals to formally unveil $8.3B ‘climate change action plan’
The Ontario government will spend up to $8.3 billion over the next five years on measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

TheStar.com
June 7, 2016
Robert Benzie and Rob Ferguson

The Ontario government will spend up to $8.3 billion over the next five years on measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Liberals’ new climate change action plan.

In the 85-page final version of the strategy, revealed by the Star on Tuesday after weeks of speculation, the government hopes to reduce annual carbon emissions by 9,832,000 tonnes in 2020.

That’s the equivalent of removing 2.3 million cars from Ontario roads.

Environment and Climate Change Minister Glen Murray said he is eager to officially unveil the plan Wednesday morning at the Evergreen Brick Works on Bayview Ave.

Among its 28 directives are a means-tested “cash-for-clunkers” scheme to convince low- and moderate-income motorists to switch to electric cars and a hydro bill rebate to make it free to charge vehicles overnight at home.

“All of the things you’ll see tomorrow in the final release of the document . . . will give you a pretty good sense in how invested we are in supporting those decisions and making those cars very cost competitive, and equal to or lower to conventional technology at the point in sale,” said Murray.

Existing rebates of up to $14,000 per electric vehicle will be expanded — with up to $1,000 available to install a home-charging station — and Queen’s Park is lobbying Ottawa to remove the 13 per cent harmonized sales tax from electric cars.

There will be changes to the building code so new houses with garages would have to be built with a 50-amp, 240-volt plug for car charging.

As well, “all new homes to be net zero carbon homes” by 2030 meaning that while that can still be heated using natural gas, builders will have to offset that with other efficiencies to reduce carbon emissions.

“There’s a number of builders out there who are building ultra-low or net zero buildings right now. The construction industry is ahead of us,” Murray told reporters Tuesday.

“The questions is how do we align our building code and how do we get municipalities to align some of their regulations to ensure net zero buildings.”

To bankroll all of the new environmental programs, Ontario has joined a cap-and-trade system with Quebec and California that puts a price on carbon.

Gasoline prices will rise next January by 4.3 cents a litre and the average monthly natural gas bill will increase by $5.

That works out to a $13 hit monthly for most households, though there will be offsetting money-saving incentive programs to encourage conservation.

Under cap and trade, businesses will have caps on emissions and will be able to trade credits to those exceeding their tallies, creating an economic incentive to pollute less.

The climate change action plan estimates that between $5.964 billion and $8.301 billion will be collected and then spent over the next five years — all of which by law must be earmarked for reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

Opposition parties are expressing skepticism about the Liberal scheme.

Progressive Conservative MPP John Yakabuski (Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke) accused the government of having “a hidden agenda” to force people from using fossil fuels, like natural gas, when touting net zero carbon homes.

“I don’t think that’s even possible . . . unless people have vast amounts of property in their backyard to be putting in very, very expensive geothermal units. The reality is it would add about $50,000 to the cost of a home,” said Yakabuski.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said it was about time the Liberals, who have been in power since 2003, tackled the problem.

“This government has been promising a climate change plan for almost a decade now. For almost 10 years they have been talking about a climate change plan, and the last couple of days, we’ve certainly seen bits and pieces trickling out,” said Horwarth.

In a speech Tuesday night at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, Premier Kathleen Wynne defended her government’s approach to climate change, insisting “cap and trade is the best way forward.”

“It puts a price on pollution. Some costs will rise modestly. Other costs, like electricity, will not because Ontario’s electricity sector now emits almost no pollution,” Wynne said at the C.D. Howe directors’ dinner.

“My opponents complain that cap and trade is too complex, as though the solution to the greatest threat humankind has ever faced could fit into a tweet,” she said.

“What’s worse is when they go on to spread misinformation, most recently by concluding that Ontario’s yet-to-be-released climate change action plan will ban natural gas. That is categorically false — but they are choosing to ignore the facts.”