Vaughan sets out ambitious action plan to curb greenhouse gas emissions locally

Vaughan Citizen
March 26, 2014
By Adam Martin-Robbins

With devastating ice storms, severe flooding and powerful tornadoes expected to become more common unless steps are taken to slow climate change dramatically, the city is looking at ways to slash greenhouse gas emissions in Vaughan.

City council is getting set to adopt a new community climate action plan with the goal of cutting emissions by 20 per cent less than 2006 levels, on a per-capita basis, by 2026.

That translates to each resident reducing their emissions by 1.5 tonnes, from 6.8 to 5.3, the equivalent of taking 121,292 cars off the road each year.

While that means Vaughan’s total greenhouse gas emissions will be higher in 2026 than in 2006, because of expected population growth, they will still be much lower than if no action is taken.

“This is something we think is attainable by having it tied to population growth and having a per-capita measure as opposed to an absolute goal,” Chris Wolnik, Vaughan’s manager of environmental sustainability, said.

“We want to show that we can be a leader in the area. It’s a good plan to help facilitate that.”

The plan was developed by a 40-member steering committee comprised of representatives from local businesses, environmental groups, health care agencies, local school board representatives, among others.

9 actions, opportunities

It sets out nine actions and nine opportunities across three sectors - at home, at work and on the move, which focuses on transportation.

The actions segments outline existing programs or initiatives residents and business owners can take advantage of such as PowerStream’s or Enbridge’s energy conservation and efficiency programs and new green building requirements for residential and non-residential construction.

The opportunities segments discuss programs or initiatives that could, or should, be looked at in the future, such as a pilot program aimed at creating a carbon neutral neighbourhood; a training program for building managers on ways to improve facility performance and a food waste diversion program for the city’s restaurants, banquet halls and grocery stores.

“Climate change is the leading environmental issue of our time, right now. We’re seeing impacts, not only globally but locally, of extreme weather,” Mr. Wolnik said. “The plan itself provides an opportunity for concrete actions to happen that citizens, businesses and other organizations in the community can take action on and move forward with.”

Simple steps

The plan also highlights some very simple steps you can take at home, at work or while you’re getting around the city to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions

The at home section, for instance, talks about recycling old appliances and replacing them with energy efficient models; being more diligent about recycling and composting food waste.

At work, meanwhile, you can ensure that you always turn off your computer at the end of the day, use double-sided printing or start a composting program.

The on the move section highlights measures such as carpooling or using public transit, riding your bike to the convenience store instead of driving and turning off your car engine instead of idling.

“It’s changing people’s behaviour, which isn’t easy to do, but if someone is on the fence or willing or financially motivated to do so, there are some really good opportunities on the conservation side and the active transportation side,” Mr. Wolnik said.

“Food waste is one of the huge issues. So if you can reduce the amount of food waste that you create at home, by buying more appropriately, then there is less impact of having to transport the food to the store. And there’s a ripple effect all the way through.”

Meeting the emission reduction targets set out in the plan obviously requires buy-in from the entire community.

Earth Hour Saturday

Given that, Mr. Wolnik said, the city is committed to promoting the plan at events throughout the year including Saturday’s Earth Hour event at city hall and the annual Greening Vaughan Environmental Days, which take place once in each ward through May and June.

And it is going to be tracking the community’s progress to determine if the targets set out in the plan are being met.

“We know the city can’t lead and implement everything, but we can provide that facilitation role,” Mr. Wolnik said. “We want to have a small group that meets a couple of times a year. They would come back and say, ‘What has been done? Are we making progress on some of these goals and objectives that we’ve outlined?”