Item - 2017.PE19.4

The Parks and Environment Committee recommends that:

1.  City Council approve the following long-term goals and pursue necessary measures to realize a low-carbon Toronto in 2050 that achieves an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions against 1990 levels:

a.  65 percent reduction in community-wide GHG emissions by 2030 from 1990 levels as an interim target;

b.  100 percent of new buildings are designed and built to be near zero GHG emissions by 2030;

c.  100 percent of existing buildings are retrofitted to the highest emission reduction technically feasible, on average achieving a 40 percent energy performance improvement over 2017 levels, while limiting affordability impacts to residents, by 2050;

d.  75 percent of community-wide energy use is derived from renewable or low-carbon sources by 2050;

e.  30 percent of total floor space community-wide - residential and commercial - will be connected to low-carbon thermal energy by 2050;

 f.  100 percent of transportation options - including public transit and personal vehicles - use low or zero-carbon energy sources, and active transportation accounts for 75 percent of trips under 5 km city-wide by 2050; and

g.  95 percent of waste is diverted in all sectors - residential, institutional, commercial and industrial - by 2050.

2.  City Council direct the Chief Corporate Officer to lead cross-corporate implementation of City Council's approved "Leading by Example" TransformTO Report 1 Strategies (Item PE15.1), for which business cases will be brought through the annual budget process, towards achievement of the following low-carbon leadership goals:

a.  design and build all new City-owned facilities to be near zero GHG emissions by 2026;

b.  retrofit all City-owned buildings, including social housing, to the highest emission reduction technically feasible, on average achieving a 40% energy savings over 2017 building energy performance by 2040;

c.  install 24MW capacity of renewable energy on City-owned facilities and lands by 2020;

d.  establish a green fleet plan to transition 45% of City-owned fleet to low-carbon vehicles by 2030;

e.  achieve a net zero waste status at all City-owned facilities by 2030;

f.  generate and utilize 1.5 Million Giga-joules of energy annually from biogas by 2030; and

g.  earn designation as one of Canada's Top 100 Green Employers by 2020.

3.  City Council approve the long-term goal of transitioning to a low-carbon Toronto by 2050 in a way that maximizes public benefit and minimizes harms by using the following guiding principles when designing and delivering climate actions:

a.  advance social equity;

b.  improve affordability particularly for vulnerable populations;

c.  protect low-income residents

d.  contribute to poverty reduction 

e.  enhance and strengthen the local economy;

f.  maintain and create good quality local jobs;

g.  improve public health; and

h.  create resilient communities and infrastructure.

4.  City Council direct that the TransformTO low-carbon, long-term goals and implementation plans be integrated:

a.  by the Chief Resilience Officer into the development and implementation of Toronto's Resilience Strategy; and

b.  into all relevant City of Toronto strategies, policies and programs.

5.  City Council request all City Agencies and Corporations to align their business plans and strategies with the recommendations, goals, and principles presented in the report (April 20, 2017) from the Chief Corporate Officer and the strategies adopted by City Council on December 13, 14 and 15, 2016 (Item PE15.1 - TransformTO: Climate Action for a Healthy Equitable, and Prosperous Toronto) and direct the Chief Corporate Officer to include the status of such alignment in the 2019 report to the Parks and Environment Committee on the implementation status of Transform TO.

6.  City Council direct the Chief Corporate Officer to initiate three TransformTO Acceleration Campaigns, as described in the report (April 20, 2017) from the Chief Corporate Officer, to maximize the community benefit potential of low-carbon action, namely:

a.  Mobilizing Low-Carbon Neighbourhoods;

b.  Workforce Development for High-performance Buildings; and

c.  Exploring the Implications and Opportunities of Electric Mobility.

7.  City Council direct the Chief Corporate Officer to prepare and provide to City Council in the second quarter of each new term of Council, a report that identifies:

a.  Updates on TransformTO key performance indicators including:

i.  City-wide GHG emissions as measured by the City of Toronto GHG Inventory;

ii.  Co-benefits of low-carbon actions (indicators to be presented in first four year implementation plan update);

iii.  Public engagement (number of organizations/individuals engaged and their level of engagement); and

iv.  Amount of financial and other resources mobilized in support of low carbon action in Toronto;

b.  progress towards City of Toronto low-carbon leadership goals; and

c.  revisions and additions to the short-term strategies, and the implementation plan for that term of Council.

8.  City Council direct the Chief Corporate Officer to prepare and provide to Council a status update on the TransformTO key performance indicators in the third year of each Council term.

9.  City Council direct the City Manager to pursue all potentially applicable Federal and Provincial Government funding opportunities to assist in implementing Transform TO, including the promised Ontario Municipal Climate Challenge Fund, and to advocate to the Federal and Provincial Government for additional funding or financing opportunities to implement Transform TO.

10.  City Council direct the City Manager to advocate to the Federal and Provincial Governments for regulatory, policy, and co-delivery supports necessary to achieve the Transform TO long-term, low-carbon goals.

11.  City Council authorize the City Manager or designate to negotiate and enter into all necessary agreements, including funding agreements, to support the implementation of the TransformTO recommendations and strategies, in forms satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

12.  City Council direct the Chief Corporate Officer to report back on the relevance of consumption-based GHG emissions accounting in the Toronto context as part of the 2019 status update and renewed TransformTO implementation plan.

13.  City Council direct the Chief Corporate Officer to undertake appropriate consultation with the aboriginal community on the TransformTO plan and implementation, including any local traditional knowledge relevant to climate change and report to the Parks and Environment Committee in 2019 as part of the implementation report.

14.  City Council direct the City Clerk to forward Council's decision to the following Provincial and Federal ministries for information: Minister of the Environment and Climate Change (Ontario), Minister of Municipal Affairs (Ontario), Minister of Energy (Ontario), Minister of Infrastructure (Ontario), Minister of the Environment and Climate Change (Canada), and the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities (Canada).

The following gave a presentation on Climate Action for a Healthy, Equitable and Prosperous Toronto:

- Director, Environment and Energy

- Manager, Environmental Implementation and Support

- Project Lead, Environment and Energy

In July 2007, Toronto City Council recognized the far reaching impacts of climate change and unanimously made a commitment to see community-wide greenhouse gas emissions reduced by 80 percent against 1990 levels by the year 2050. The City's innovation and leadership is why Toronto has seen its greenhouse gas emissions drop by 24 percent, exceeding our 2012 goal of a 6 percent reduction.  However, our current pace of change is insufficient to achieve the emission reduction goal for 2050.

Analysis shows that the 2050 goal is achievable with existing technologies, but it means bold action is required to transform Toronto's urban systems - buildings, energy, transportation and waste. Where Toronto is already on the correct trajectory, we need to stay the course. In other areas, we need to increase the scale and pace of change.

The path to the 2050 goal is one where many of the low-carbon actions will pay for themselves over the long term. It is also a path that can facilitate achievement of a city that is more healthy, equitable and prosperous. The TransformTO Modelling Advisory Group, consisting of 35 community leaders and City staff have identified how low-carbon actions can drive significant co-benefits. Their report, Attachment A: TransformTO Modelling Advisory Group Summary Report, outlines ways to realize these co-benefits.

Initiated in 2015, TransformTO involved the engagement of over 2,000 residents, the input of an inter-divisional steering team and the Modelling Advisory Group, in combination with detailed technical modelling. Getting to Toronto's 2050 goal requires:

A. Maintaining and Implementing Toronto's Planned Climate Actions

B. Committing to the Vision - A Low-Carbon, Healthy, Equitable and Prosperous Toronto

C. Maximizing Community Benefit from Climate Action

D. Leadership through City Action

E. Urban System Transformation

i. Mobilizing Low-Carbon Neighbourhoods

ii. Expanding Mobility Options and Embracing Electrification

iii. Building Energy Performance

iv. Renewable and Community Energy Approaches

v. Towards Virtual Waste Elimination

F.  Monitoring and Reporting

In December 2016, City Council approved a package of TransformTO strategies to initiate transformation in Toronto's urban systems that must be funded and implemented to put Toronto on the needed long-term trajectory.  In addition to full implementation of these strategies, this report identifies three Acceleration Campaigns to ensure that efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions also maximize potential community benefits:

1.  Mobilize Low-Carbon Neighbourhoods;

2.  Exploring the Implications and Opportunities of Electric Mobility; and

3.  Workforce Development for High-Performance Buildings