Ontario’s climate strategy to reduce emissions by 2030 scores high on aspirations but low when tested against a checklist of potential outcomes. The Ontario Planning Outlook (OPO), the foundation for Ontario’s current Long-Term Energy Plan (LTEP) process, does not square up with the requirements of meeting the targets of the climate change legislation. If achieving emission reduction targets can be viewed as the cake we covet and desire, then the bittersweet aftertaste will be the certainty of cost realities and the difficult hurdles of implementation.
We highlight the fault lines on the pathway and shine a light on the key components of climate change and energy policy to avoid the road to tears.
We accept the urgency of action on climate change and note that Canada’s long-term greenhouse gases strategy entails a significant growth in demand for electrification to meet emission reduction targets. The OPO skirts and dances around this one key factor of future success. The ensuing LTEP must explicitly favour and promote electrification across all economic sectors as the critical enabler for the transition to a low-carbon energy future.
How and why?
