Nothing --That's The Policy

A recent report concludes that the Government of Ontario has done almost nothing to achieve the goals set out in its environmental policy. Mike Crawley writes:

Premier Doug Ford's government has done almost nothing on the bulk of the promises in the greenhouse-gas reduction plan it introduced last November, according to a new report by an environmental watchdog group. 

The report published Thursday by the group Environmental Defence examines the seven key actions pledged by the government to cut Ontario's carbon emissions, and finds that little or no progress has been made on all but one.  

The actions were laid out in the Ford government's plan called "Preserving and Protecting our Environment for Future Generations," unveiled after the Progressive Conservatives scrapped the Wynne Liberal government's cap-and-trade program.

Ford borrowed a line from Donald Trump. He was going to "repeal and replace" Wynne's environmental policy. However, all he did was repeal that policy:

The Environmental Defence report says the government is already "not on track" to achieve its own emission reduction targets, in part because of decisions that have slowed the pace of electric vehicle sales and delayed a push for more renewable content in fuel.  

"So far, we haven't seen any meaningful steps to reduce carbon pollution and fight climate change in Ontario," said Sarah Buchanan, the clean economy program manager for Environmental Defence. 

The signature piece of the government's plan — an emission performance standard for large industrial polluters — will actually increase greenhouse gas emissions rather than decrease them, according to the report.

It says the system is too lenient and offers too many exemptions to big polluters, and there's no evidence to support the government's forecast that the standard will contribute 15 per cent of the province's overall target for cutting greenhouse gases.  

The report says the government has taken no action on two programs that together account for one-third of its emission-reduction target:

Expanding conservation programs to reduce natural gas consumption.
Supporting innovation, such as energy storage and low-carbon heating fuels.
The report says the government has taken minimal action on programs that account for another 40 per cent of the greenhouse gas (GHG) target, such as: 

Increased use of green vehicles.
Cleaner fuels.
Establishing an emission-reduction fund for businesses.

Electric vehicle sales in Ontario during the first quarter of 2019 were down 55 per cent from the same time period the previous year, after the government scrapped all rebates for purchasing electric cars.

The government's plan relies on greater adoption of low-carbon vehicles for one-sixth of the province's overall target for cutting GHGs. Without incentives that help cover the higher cost of electric vehicles, the report says it's "extremely unlikely" that enough such cars will be on Ontario's roads to significantly reduce emissions. 

The government is proposing to boost the minimum ethanol content of fuel at the gas pumps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But the timeline is slow, with no changes proposed until 2025, and a gradual phase-in after that.

But all of this doesn't surprise you, does it?

Image: North99