Agenda

The Chief Corporate Officer recommends that:

1.  City Council approve the TransformTO Short-term Strategies, as presented in Attachment A to this report (November 2, 2016) from the Chief Corporate Officer.

2.  City Council direct City Divisions, Agencies and Corporations with support from the Chief Corporate Officer, to develop business cases as part of the 2018 budget process to support the implementation of the strategies outlined in the TransformTO Short-term Strategies.

3.  City Council direct the City Manager to advocate to the Provincial and Federal governments for program funding, co-delivery opportunities and related policy and regulatory supports necessary to implement the TransformTO Short-term Strategies and prepare the City for success in achieving the 2050 target.

4.  City Council authorize the City Manager or his/her designate to negotiate and enter into all necessary agreements, including funding agreements, to support the implementation of the TransformTO Short-term Strategies in forms satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

Initiated in 2015, TransformTO is a community-wide, cross-corporate initiative designed to engage residents, experts, stakeholders and all City Divisions, Agencies and Corporations on how Toronto can achieve a low-carbon future that meets the needs of all Torontonians. In March 2015 the Parks and Environment Subcommittee on Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation was created to guide and support the project. TransformTO is co-managed by the Environment and Energy Division and the Toronto Atmospheric Fund.

Between March 2015 and July 2016 over 2000 Torontonians participated in TransformTO conversations about our low-carbon future. TransformTO is undertaking comprehensive technical analysis of strategies and actions to get Toronto to our long-term low-carbon target of reducing emissions by 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050.

Toronto will not meet Council's 2050 goal without significant action and investment. There is a 8.7 million tonne gap between our projected GHG emissions in 2050 and our low-carbon target. Over the next 34 years transformative changes to the City’s core urban systems - transportation, building design and operation, energy systems and waste management - will be necessary. 

In 2007 City Council adopted the progressive Climate Change and Clean Air Action Plan, positioning Toronto as a leader and innovator in climate action. The programs and policies developed and championed here are emulated across North America and internationally.  Many of the programs and policies from the 2007 Climate Change and Clean Air Action Plan and the 2009 Sustainable Energy Strategy continue to reduce GHG emissions, however we will need to aggressively expand and enhance these while adding others over the intervening 33 years to meet the 2050 goal established by Council. To date, GHG emissions in Toronto have dropped by over 24 percent since 1990. TransformTO is the next step along Toronto's climate action path. 

This report presents a package of short-term strategies to expand and accelerate our existing innovative programs and policies to maximize their emission reduction potential to 2020. In the short-term we need to exceed our 2020 target to put us closer to the necessary trajectory to Council's 2050 low-carbon target. This report also identifies the building blocks of our long-term low-carbon strategy as Council needs to align its decisions today with Toronto's long-term low-carbon goals. 

Successful implementation of the proposed package of Short-term Strategies in Attachment A will lead to between 455,000 and 857,000 tonnes of additional GHG reductions by 2020, beyond the emission reductions already anticipated from Toronto's existing programs and policies (see Figure 1).

For further information see Figure 1 in staff report: Toronto's measured and projected GHG emissions to 2050 and impact of proposed TransformTO Short-term Strategies.

There is no direct financial impact associated with this report.

Approval of future budget requests is critical to expanding the staffing and resource capacity of the Environment and Energy Division to jump-start the TransformTO Short-term Strategies. Future year funding commitments by the City, combined with leveraging private capital and senior government funding, will ultimately influence the City's success in achieving the City's emissions reduction potential by 2020.

In subsequent fiscal years, business cases will be initiated to request the necessary operating and capital funds to support the implementation of the cross-corporate actions identified in the TransformTO Short-term Strategies, in concert with the City’s budget process.

Provincial and federal programs are also creating new direct funding and co-delivery opportunities for municipalities and/or their residents to support emission reduction activity. Ontario’s cap and trade system is expected to generate $1.8 billion a year in proceeds to be directed towards carbon emission reduction activities and programs. The anticipated price on carbon also creates more favourable business cases for investments in low-carbon capital projects (e.g. building energy efficiency retrofits). Toronto should proactively position itself to take best advantage of these new funding resources. The short-term strategies presented in Attachment A indicate when they are aligned with provincial priorities.  Private investment will also have a role to play in some capital projects and will be sought as appropriate.

The Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer has reviewed this report and agrees with the financial impact information.

At its meeting on September 9, 2016 the Parks and Environment Committee forwarded Item  PE13.1 - Presentation from Toronto Youth Environmental Council - Toronto’s Climate Report Card to the Parks and Environment Subcommittee on Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, for consideration of a zero emissions climate action plan and youth involvement in the Transform TO project.

At its meeting on June 29, 2015, the Toronto Board of Health forwarded the report (June 12, 2015) from the Toronto Medical Officer of Health on Climate Change and Health Strategy for Toronto to the Parks and Environment Subcommittee on Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation for their information.