City of Windsor falling short on climate objectives, emissions targets: report

Windsor is falling behind on its targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report going before a committee of council next week.

Despite some of the city’s efforts, which include adding LED streetlights, vehicle fleet transitions to BEV and building retrofits, corporate emissions have increased 5.9 per cent and energy usage has gone up by 9.5 per cent since 2014, figures which the report states can be attributed to changes in corporate assets.

“City emissions are rising and the corporation is tracking above target and is at risk of not reaching 2041 targets set out in Climate Change Adaptation Plan,” reads the report, which is first going before the Environment, Transportation and Public Safety Standing Committee March 27.

“We're not on track to hit those objectives which means we need to do things differently,” said Ward 9 Coun. Kieran McKenzie, who sits on that committee.

The city is guided by the Community Energy Plan (CEP) and the Corporate Climate Action Plan (CCAP), both approved by council in 2017.

The plan includes “ambitious and transformative targets to support global efforts to keep global temperature increases within 1.5 degrees Celsius, and a community-wide goal to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40 per cent of 2014 levels and to reduce per-capita energy consumption by 40 per cent by 2041,” according to city staff. The CCAP also includes a corporate-wide goal to mirror those commitments.

“The city has to focus on climate in every decision it makes because this is going to be a permanent problem,” said Derek Coronado, the executive director of Citizens Environment Alliance. “So take it seriously, it's not going away.”

According to the report, major investment is required otherwise the annual carbon cost to Windsor by 2030 will be $253 million.

Coronado said $1 spent on climate mitigation and adaptation now will eventually cost $6 in the future for the same mitigation efforts.

“And the environment is going to be impacted, of course, and our economy is going to be impacted,” he said.

Coronado points to a plan the city has been developing for four years, called the Deep Energy Efficiency Retrofit (DEER) program for homeowners to improve the efficiency of Windsor’s aging homes by 80 per cent.

But it’s not expected to be active until late 2025.

“This is an opportunity for each individual household to look at different ways not only that they can reduce their carbon footprint, but they can also reduce their own home energy bill,” said McKenzie, noting the program would allow residents to pay for home energy efficiency upgrades over time through property taxes, with an objective to make investments revenue neutral.

Coronado also points to decisions of council — like approving a gas plant last year — which be believes runs contradictory to its climate emergency declaration.

“Stop making asinine decisions that add to emissions in the city going forward,” said Coronado. “If we continually approve new fossil fuel projects, we're not going to achieve those targets.“

McKenzie says the city also needs to get serious about investments in active transportation infrastructure and transit, without which meeting these emissions reduction targets will be next to impossible.

“There's no chance, zero chance, that we will even come close to hitting our targets, which I'm already skeptical that we have any opportunity to hit, if nothing changed,” he said.

Coun. McKenzie said the City of Windsor’s Climate Change Adaptation Plan is highly regarded and considered one of the best across Canada, but implementation has been a challenge.

“Those can't just be words on paper. That has to be followed with specific and concrete actions that are measurable that allow us to hit those targets that we've established,” he said, adding it’s a matter of political will.

“We know what we need to do,” he said. “We need to now have the courage and the foresight to do those things.”

City staff declined to comment on this report until the Environment, Transportation and Public Safety Standing Committee meets next Wednesday, March 27 at 4:30 p.m.