'Declaring climate emergency a good idea': Newmarket seeks additional action on emissions reduction

Newmarkettoday.ca
Jan. 25, 2022

Newmarket council reflected on the town's progress to become more environmentally friendly and said more needs to be done.

Councillors reviewed the town’s environmental stewardship Jan. 24, with a report showcasing declines in municipal power consumption and emissions from fuel consumption. The presentation also highlighted efforts to invest more in solar power and encourage retrofitting, as well as how climate change is worsening globally.

Mayor John Taylor said with scientists warning of the severity of climate change, the town must continue to make efforts and improve.

“Every individual, every business, every level of government, every city and town,has to be taking steps to be more aggressive and more intentional in what they’re doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Taylor said. “We’ve got a number of things we’ve made progress on, but clearly, we need to make more progress.”

The report showed that the town’s CO2 emissions from fuel consumption have declined from the town's vehicles, from over one million kilograms in 2016 to approximately 875,000 in 2020. Facility energy usage has also declined from over 14 million kilowatt-hours in 2016 to 8.75 million in 2020, though senior climate change specialist Craig Schritt said that was driven by use changes in the pandemic.

Schritt also highlighted the 2021 findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that warned of the rising dangers of the phenomenon.

Schritt added that threat does manifest itself locally. Warmer winters could make for more pests, such as mosquitoes. He also said predictions that precipitation could shift to more rain than snow in the winter could cause strain for the stormwater system.

“This report lends credence that declaring a climate emergency in January 2020 was a good idea,” he said.

Other measures in recent years have included solar retrofit to town facilities, now in place on the roofs of seven buildings. However, solar power generated by the town declined in 2020, from more than 700,000-kilowatt-hours in 2016 to approximately 200,000 in 2020. Schritt said it was due to repairs to the panels at the Magna Centre, which kept them offline through all of 2020.

Councillor Bob Kwapis said he would like to see more on the electrification of the vehicle fleet as it progressed and the impact it has on emissions.

He added the IPCC report was concerning.

“It just scares the heck out of me, and it really puts things in perspective,” he said. “We have to take every step possible, no doubt about it.”

Taylor said the town would need to take another hard look at environmental initiatives in the next council term. He said he would like to see expanded tree planting, examine more solar at places such as parking lots, and find partnerships to expand efforts to get retrofits at private homes and businesses.

Councillor Grace Simon said she would like to see solar panels on paths and half-lights. But she praised environmental efforts in the past four years, such as plastic reduction.

“This has been one of our pillars, and we have been really focused on in the past four years,” she said. “Little by little, bit by bit, moving forward.”