01: Set binding climate targets based on science and justice consistent with global efforts to limit planetary warming to 1.5°C.

The Ford government has set the climate agenda in Ontario back by years, bowing to development interests that will destroy important wetlands, woodlands, farm lands and Indigenous sites. They have reduced municipal powers to implement their local climate strategies. They are also planning to increase the use of fossil fuels to meet our electricity needs, which would greatly increase our fossil fuels emissions.

Campaign to Phase Out Gas Fired Power

To make matters even worse, in October 2022 the government directed the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) to contract for the building of NEW gas plants in Ontario. OCAA is  currently working on a broad-based campaign to Phase Out Polluting Gas Power.

Interview with OCAA Chair

On November 11th, Gail Greer of the Ontario Climate Emergency Campaign conducted an interview with Jack Gibbons, Chair of the Ontario Clean Air Alliance (OCAA). Below are links to excerpts from the interview relating to his key points:

1. OCAA led a victorious 17-year campaign to end coal-fired electricity
2. Round one of the battle to phase-out gas-powered electricity
3. Dunsky study commissioned on need for gas powered electricity
4. Gas-powered phase out is feasible
5. Why the Dunsky report was ignore
6. The OCAA Campaign must focus on federal action

Read The full transcript of the interview with Jack Gibbons.

How can you support the OCAA Campaign?

a)  Sign the Ontario Clean Air Alliance petition: No New Gas Plants

b) Read the Open Letters to Prime Minister Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh
Ontario Clean Air Alliance, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, Canadian Federation of Students Ontario, Environmental Defence, Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario, and more than 25 other organizations are asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh to work together to establish federal Clean Electricity Regulations that will prohibit the building of new gas plants in Ontario effective immediately; and require Ontario to move to a net zero-carbon electricity grid by 2030.

• Read our letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
• Read our letter to Jagmeet Singh, Leader of the New Democratic Party.
  

c) Send your own message to Prime Minister Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh

d) Meet with your MP, your MPP and your City/Town Mayors and Councillors 

Disastrous New Legislation in Ontario

a) Bill 23: More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022

RALLIES THIS WEEKEND - Friday through Monday: Hands off the Greenbelt  
JOIN ONE or set up your own.

OCEC will co-host a press conference with other partners discussing Bill 23 at Queens Park on Monday Nov 28th at 10:00 am. The aim will be to give voice to a few of the many groups who were not given opportunity to present to the Standing Committee on Bill 23. We hope all OCEC members will tune in and amplify the content.

Read Ontario Nature’s blog on Bill 23 - What You Need to Know.

Find more links on OCEC’s resource page.

b) Bill 39: Better Municipal Governance Act, 2022

On November 16th, the Ontario government introduced more new legislation seeking to expand mayoral powers. If passed, Bill 39 would introduce amendments to existing statutes and give the Mayors of Toronto and Ottawa the power to pass votes with only the support of 1/3 of city councillors. This follows shortly after the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act was passed in August 2022, which gave the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa the power to veto bylaws that impeded the province's priorities. Both pieces of legislation are rationalized by the Ontario government by the need to expedite the building of 1.5 million new homes over the next ten years.

• CBC analysis: Ford government's Bill 39 is 'against the basic democratic instinct'
• Globe and Mail editorial: Doug Ford fires a shot through the heart of democracy. 

Key Ontario Resources

a) Ontario's Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Potential Study
    September 28, 2022; prepared by Dunsky Energy + Climate for IESO

One of the most significant changes to electricity systems around the world has been the emergence of new technologies that can support locally-owned facilities for electricity generation, control, and storage. These new smaller-scale technologies, like solar panels and onsite battery storage, often referred to as Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), are transforming the way communities meet their energy needs.

• Volume 1: Results & Recommendations
• Volume 2:  Volume II: Methodology & Assumptions
  

b) GTHA 2021 Carbon Emissions Report
Despite a range of new climate policies and investments, the 2021 GTHA Carbon Emissions Inventory, produced by The Atmospheric Fund (TAF), shows that emissions within the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area rose 4.5% in 2021. 

c) Articles and Videos

• Doug Ford promises to pay for carbon emitting electricity even after it’s banned. 
• Ontario turns its back on Quebec waterpower while firing up gas
• What if the wind doesn’t blow? (video)

Another protest was held outside the constituency office of MPP David Piccini, Minister of the Environment, in Port Hope, also on Nov. 18th, against the Provincial Government’s Proposal to Remove Thousands of Acres from the Greenbelt. .

Watch the video. 

Press Release: Climate Action Muskoka Raises the Alarm on Ontario Bill 23

Bill 23 Petitions 

• Environmental Defence: Sign the “Hands Off The Greenbelt” petition led by Environmental Defence.
• David Suzuki Foundation Petition: Urge the Ontario government to amend the homes act,

Canada’s Emissions Reduction Plan

Canada’s average temperatures are rising at twice the global average, and three times in the North. Polluting less and taking steps to remove excess carbon from the air will be one of the most important undertakings in Canada’s history. The 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan describes the many actions that are already taking place as well as new measures that will ensure that we reduce emissions across the entire economy. At the heart of the Paris Agreement (COP15) were Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), in which  each country outlined and communicated their post-2020 climate actions. Canada’s NDC is a 40 to 45% reduction in emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050.  

Oil and Gas Consultations

Canada held consultations on a plan to curb and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector, its largest and fastest-growing source of emissions, between July and September 2022. The final  plan is due by March 2023, with full regulatory implementation by the end of 2023. 

• News release
• Discussion paper on Options to Set a Cap on Oil and Gas Sector Greenhouse Gas Emissions to Achieve 2030 Goals and Net-Zero by 2050 and a
• Backgrounder on the Oil and Gas Emissions Cap.
• SCAN!’s submission: Curbing Emissions from the Oil and Gas Industry
  

Clean Energy Regulations

The Government of Canada is also scheduled to publish new clean energy regulations by the end of December. The articles below provide background information and explanations about this important step.

• Environment and Climate Change Canada: A clean electricity standard in support of a net-zero electricity sector: discussion paper
• Policy Options: Getting Canada’s proposed clean electricity regulations right to reverse our poor climate performance
  
• Bet Big: A citizen's guide to green industrial policy in Canada

National Signatory Actions 

a) Shift Action: Tell the Canada Pension Plan to protect your pension and the planet

b) 350.org Tax Big Oil to Fund a Just Transition
Tell Justin Trudeau and Steven Guilbeault to tax the excess profits of fossil fuel companies to pay for loss and damage, and fund a just transition that puts workers and communities first. Watch 350.org's Ministry of Just Transition deliver the bill for a windfall profits tax on the oil and gas industry.
Sign the petition

The injustice at the heart of human-made climate change was recognized right from the first climate change summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) treaty. Unlike Developed Countries (DCs), Less Developed Countries (LDCs) are responsible for very few man-made GHG emissions, yet often suffer most from their climate consequences. 

The moral principle of 'shared but differentiated responsibilities' agreed in Rio meant that DCs would have primary responsibility for cutting GHG emissions and for financial assistance to LDCs to mitigate and adapt to the global warming caused. Every Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UNFCCC since  has struggled to give substance to that vision.

Canada’s Performance at COP27 

• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau didn’t attend COP 27, despite claims that Canada is a climate leader.  
• The Climate Change Performance Index released there ranked Canada 58th of 63 countries.
• MP for Churchill-Keewatinook Aski, MB Niki Ashton deliver a statement on Nov. 16th in the House of Commons on Canada’s failure to tackle the climate crisis.
  

Climate Justice and Human Rights at COP27

a) Loss and Damage

The goal of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) for COP 27 was the adoption of a Loss and Damage financial facility for climate change impacts that are beyond mitigation or adaptation. This was demanded by the Group of 77 and China, which is headed by Pakistan this year. In 2022 one-third of Pakistan was flooded by torrential monsoon rains, caused by climate change, which triggered the most severe flooding in Pakistan’s recent history. It displaced at least 7.9 million people, destroyed a full season of crops, caused $14.9 billion in damages and $15.2 billion in economic losses, and killed at least 1,700.

A landmark decision to set up a Loss And Damage Fund was made on the final day of COP27. 

b) Need for Humanitarian Aid

c) Egyptian Canadian Coalition for Democracy

In his words:

COP27 Wrap-Up

COP27, this year's U.N. climate summit, closed on Sunday after being extended for two days in order to reach an agreement on the creation of a fund to help lower income countries respond to the devastating impact of global warming. There was also a big win in the form of a call to reform multilateral lenders. However, many felt there was little progress made in tackling the emissions that are causing global warming. Below are a few articles that recap or analyze the results of COP27.

COP27 delivers climate fund breakthrough at cost of progress on emissions (Reuters)

“The deal for a loss and damage fund marked a diplomatic coup for small islands and other vulnerable nations in winning over the 27-nation European Union and the United States, which had long resisted the idea for fear that such a fund could open them to legal liability for historic emissions.”

Climate damage fund for poor nations approved at COP27 — but no deal on emissions reduction (CBC)

“Countries adopted a hard-fought final agreement at the COP27 climate summit early on Sunday that sets up a fund to help poor countries being battered by climate disasters - but does not boost efforts to tackle the emissions causing them.”

COP 27: A Win on Climate Impacts, Silence on Oil and Gas Phaseout
(The Energy Mix)

Environmental Defence’s Statement on the final outcome of COP27

Read more about COP27 Outcomes in Covering Climate Now.

Key International Resources

a) United Nations Climate Change

This is the site of the UNFCCC secretariat which supports the global response to climate change. It contains data and information pertaining to COP27 and all past UNFCC COPs. 

b) United Nations 2022 Emissions Gap Report

“Inadequate progress on climate action makes rapid transformation of societies the only option”

Video message from Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations (3:43).
Key messages.
Full report

c) World Energy Outlook 2022

Published by the International Energy Agency (IEA), World Energy Outlook 2022 shows that while today’s policies are still not enough to avoid severe impacts from climate change, more and more governments are now taking longer-term steps to accelerate structural changes in their energy supplies. This report contains 524 pages of analysis, data, and projections on a range of topics, along with interactive data stories.

d) Integrity Matters: Net Zero Commitments by Businesses, Financial Institutions, Cities and Regions

Launched at COP27, this report from the United Nations’ High‑Level Expert Group, headed by Catherine McKenna, former Minister of the Environment for Canada, on the Net Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities outlines what a credible plan to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions should look like. 
Read the article in Canada’s National Observer.

e) A New Social Contract for Climate Diplomacy

In this 10-minute video Pakistani columnist Huma Yusu shares a vision for global climate diplomacy where the countries responsible for pollution pay reparations for the damage they've caused, while developing countries bring forward a clean, green future. 

a) Chaozhou, China to build world’s largest offshore wind farm
The city of Chaozhou has released plans for a massive 43 GW offshore wind farm in the strait of Taiwan. By comparison, the world’s current largest wind farm, also in China, has a capacity of 8 GW and there is currently a total of about 54 GW of offshore wind power in the entire world. China now accounts for about 40% of the world’s 824 GW installed wind capacity and roughly half of its offshore wind capacity.

b) CO2 emissions aren’t rising as fast as predicted
The International Energy Agency reported that “Defying expectations, CO2 emissions from global fossil fuel combustion are set to grow in 2022 by only a fraction of last year’s big increase”. The reason for this is the rise of renewables, which is explained further in this video by the Electric Viking (9 minutes)

Many thanks to everyone that contributed their time and talents to this issue of OCEC Connections.

Do you have any upcoming events or actions you want to share? Send them to us at OCECnews@gmail.com.