Minister's Speech

Statement to the Ontario Legislature

by the Honourable John Gerretsen
Minister of the Environment

On the Release of 2007-2008 Annual Report
On Ontario’s Climate Change Action Plan

Dec. 10, 2008

(Check against delivery)

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to present our government’s first annual report on Ontario’s Climate Change Action Plan; “Creating our Sustainable Future”. 

Faced with the reality of world-wide climate change, governments today have a clear choice: do nothing, or embrace the transition to a low-carbon, green future.

Ontario has chosen to be a leader.

Our Climate Change Action Plan, which we introduced last year, is wide-ranging and includes ambitious reduction targets for greenhouse gas emissions — six per cent below 1990 levels by 2014 and 15 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020.
 
It includes programs designed to promote alternative energy and energy conservation, create more sustainable communities, increase Ontario’s commitment to environmental research and development and provide the foundation for a greener economy.

Achieving our greenhouse gas reduction targets is a priority.

The annual report shows how we are delivering on our objectives — in the transportation sector, in innovation and job creation, in creating green energy options, in building greener communities and in reducing the government’s own carbon footprint.

As the first-ever annual report on our Climate Change Action Plan, the report focuses on the starting points and documents our actions over the past year.   

It shows Ontario is on track to meet its aggressive greenhouse gas reduction targets and adapt to climate change impacts.

Mr. Speaker, the report shows Ontario has reduced its CO2 emissions from coal-fired electricity by 20 per cent.

More than 2,600 megawatts of new, renewable power supply has been contracted.

And we are protecting more than 225,000 square kilometers of the Far North Boreal Forest Region — a globally significant carbon sink.

Mr. Speaker, in this report Ontarians can learn about our efforts in implementing the largest commitment to public transportation in Ontario’s history — MoveOntario 2020 — and how we have streamlined the environmental approval process for public transit projects to get them up and running sooner.

The annual report also shows our actions in developing programs and partnerships with other provinces, the federal government and jurisdictions in the United States.

Mr. Speaker, a low-carbon economy and a culture of conservation are essential to creating sustainable future growth and prosperity for our province and our children.  

In light of the difficult economic times we face today in Ontario, Mr. Speaker, it is only right to remind ourselves that creating a low-carbon economy is a tremendous environmental opportunity as well as an economic advantage.

Our plan is an economy-wide plan.  It is also a government-wide plan — with every ministry making a contribution. 

In February of this year, we set up the Climate Change Secretariat to help coordinate our efforts across government and ensure policies and programs produce real results.  

My ministry, along with all other government ministries, is working closely with the Secretariat — and that is reflected within the pages of this annual report.

When Premier McGuinty introduced Ontario’s Climate Change Action Plan last year, he made it clear our activities and our progress would be transparent and accountable.

The progress cited in this annual report has been verified by Deloitte and Touche and reviewed by Ontario's Environmental Commissioner.

We are proud of our progress but we still have a long way to go.  All of us have a role to play to meet our 2014 emission reduction targets.

Mr. Speaker, Ontario residents have a right to know how our plan is working. They also want to know how they can help and what is being asked of them as citizens and business owners.

We face this challenge together, as Ontarians.  Only by working together will we achieve our shared goals — a more prosperous and brighter future for the generations to come. 

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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