Matt Richter and the Parry Sound Muskoka Greens are addressing the launch of the Roadmap to Net-Zero: The Ontario Green’s Climate Plan, a fully costed road map to net-zero carbon emissions in Ontario by 2045.
“This ambitious but pragmatic plan lays the road map to addressing the climate crisis in Ontario and leverages investments to grow a more sustainable future while creating new local jobs,” says Matt Richter, the local Green Party candidate in Parry-Sound Muskoka
While other countries are making real progress in reducing their climate pollution, the party says Ontario’s progress has stopped and the province pollutes the climate about as much now as in 2014 and more than in 2017. The Party says Ontario must change course, dramatically and quickly.
The plan highlights the need to transform energy use in housing stock to make maintaining a home more predictable and affordable.
“We talk a lot about affordable housing from the perspective of how much it costs to rent or buy, yet we also need to look at how challenging it is to keep up with monthly energy costs,” says Richter. “Affordable housing has to be affordable to live in. And the way to do this is by making the necessary investments in energy conservation retrofits and the installation of green energy equipment.”
The plan highlights a need to accelerate the transition towards carbon neutrality by 2045.
“The climate crisis plays not just a role in our energy production and use, but every facet of our daily lives, such as transportation, healthcare, and food production. This ambitious plan creates a road map to successfully transition away from fossil fuels across all sectors of the economy and works directly with indigenous groups to expand the protection of natural spaces,” reads the party’s release.
The plan includes a framework of accountability, requiring annual reporting of carbon emissions.
“It is no longer enough to just set goals; Ontario must also meet those goals,” states the release.
“Accountability has to be central to meeting any goals. Annual reporting of carbon emissions is the absolute bare minimum. It’s disappointing that no previous government has taken this simple step to keep Ontarians informed on our progress in tackling climate change at home.”
As Canada prepares to send delegates to COP26 this week in Glasgow, the Ontario Greens say Ontario can and should be a leader in reducing carbon emissions and have created this Roadmap to Net-Zero.
“Steering rapid changes in an emergency is the job of government. Government is how we pool our resources to get big tasks done. A government that is serious about the climate crisis will put us all on the path to a green, just, and resilient economy ,” the release states, by:
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Setting the rules and the pace
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Building the right infrastructure and institutions, and
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Putting the right resources to work.
To see the entire costed plan, please visit gpo.ca/climate