According to the Ontario Biodiversity Council, 35% of Ontario’s 2018 emitted Greenhouse Gas emissions are due to transportation and 24% is due to buildings [1]https://sobr.ca/indicator/greenhouse-gas-emission/. Almost 60% of Ontario’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions are due the burning of fossil fuels.
The Federal Government is actively working on reducing the problems caused by vehicles by banning gasoline cars by 2035, subsidizing electric vehicles, and building charging infrastructure.
There is very little that Municipal Governments can do to reduce the GHG from transportation that the Federal Government is not already doing other than to reduce urban sprawl by effective land management.
Emissions from buildings, on the other hand, are within the control of Municipal Governments.
greenWR.org is a Waterloo Region resource for those who want to know more about:
- the climate emergency
- building sustainable communities
- minimizing carbon emissions
- protecting groundwater and farmland
We must change how we develop, and re-develop, our communities in order to become carbon-neutral.
We need Green Development Standards! Green Development Standards set guidelines and targets that go beyond the minimums set by Official Plans and the Ontario Building Code. They set the targets we must meet to fight climate change.
We want Waterloo Region to join Clarington, Mississauga, Ottawa, Toronto, Vaughan, Whitby, and other Ontario communities in passing Green Development Standards.
Our local politicians can do this as “the Municipal Act allows municipalities to pass environmental protection and conservation by-laws. It also allows municipalities to participate in long-term energy planning for energy use in their community.” [2]https://www.cleanairpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Municipal-Green-Development-Standards-Final.pdf
Please see: Introduction.pdf