#ottghg roundtable backgrounder

Stakeholder Expectations of the GHG Roundtable:1

February 21, 2013

1) a commitment to develop Ottawa's next generation climate change action plan, which necessarily includes a focus on community GHG reduction targets consistent with national best practices; 2) a commitment to a reasonable planning timeline and milestones (final plan or plans should be completed within 2013); and, 3) the maintenance of the GHG Roundtable or the creation of another stakeholder advisory body to participate throughout the length of the planning process and the plan's eventual implementation.

City of Ottawa's GHG Roundtable: From Advocacy to Results

The City of Ottawa previously had a constructive approach to sustainability planning and policy, however, in recent years, the approach has shifted considerably. Plans have been disregarded and downplayed (ex. Choosing Our Future),2 and funds and staff removed from the file. And as of January 1, 2013, Ottawa no longer has a climate change action plan. It's important to note that the Government of Ontario's Provincial Policy Statement, the City of Ottawa's Official Plan, and the City's Strategic Priorities 2011-2014 place sustainability as the central strategic area of focus for Ottawa's current and future municipal administration. For an review of Ottawa's sustainability underperformance see Appendix 1. During May, 2012, a memo on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions came to the City of Ottawa's Environment Committee through an unusual process - described by one councillor on the committee as "ill will and procedural wrangling"3 - partially preventing councillors from discussing the City's GHG inventories and mitigation performance, as well as public consultation opportunities. The report describes in clear terms how the city has failed to meet both its corporate and community GHG reduction targets during the implementation period of Ottawa's Air Quality and Climate Change Management Plan (AQCCMP). This memo may not have been disclosed to the public without an application through the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) process.4 The MFIPPA process and surrounding discussions also uncovered that the GHG memo went through numerous revisions before its eventual public release, and was considered highly "contentious" internally among senior staff. For the City's GHG memo see Appendix 2.

These three central expectations are the result of extensive stakeholder discussions across Ottawa but may change through future phases of consultation. 2 Choosing Our Future was a $1.2M planning initiative that produced three planning documents in 2012, which included an energy and emissions plan. See Choosing Our Future, An Energy and Emissions Plan for Canada's Capital Region, 2012. This is an excellent starting point for climate change planning in Ottawa. 3 Councillor Peter Hume made this direct comment regarding Councillor McRae's attempt to prevent a discussion of the Corporate and Community Greenhouse Gas Inventories for 2004 and 2008 memo at the Environment Committee. 4 Charles Hodgson displayed impressive community leadership in a successful effort to maximize an informed public discourse regarding climate change policy in Ottawa.

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#ottghg roundtable backgrounder

February 21, 2013

In June, 2012, following significant advocacy efforts from community stakeholders and the support of the City of Ottawa's Environmental Advisory Committee, the City's Environment Committee passed a motion to host a GHG roundtable and maintain the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Partners for Climate Protection milestone status.5 This motion went to City Council later in June and was passed. For the Environment Committee's disposition that describes the motion see Appendix 3. In November and December, 2012, almost half a year following the June motion, no communication was provided by the City or the Environment Committee regarding the GHG Roundtable. Community stakeholders launched a second intensive advocacy effort that resulted in the Mayor showing considerable leadership and announcing a Q1, 2013, commitment to establish the GHG Roundtable. Traditionally, committee chairs are responsible for announcements regarding initiatives that relate to their realms of responsibility. Other than the Mayor's announcement, most communications and engagement regarding the GHG Roundtable has been led by volunteer stakeholders. It is unlikely that most citizens or stakeholders in Ottawa would be aware of the existence of the upcoming roundtable if it were not for the outreach completed by a small number committed volunteers. As of this report, almost no external communications has been delivered by the City, the Mayor, or the Chair of the Environment Committee regarding the GHG Roundtable. A more detailed chronology describing the questionable management of sustainability planning and policy by the City is provided in Appendix 4.

A Solid Business Case for GHG Reduction: Creating Jobs, Saving Taxes, and Saving Lives
Climate change is having a major impact in Ottawa and across Canada. Average temperatures are rising, snow and ice cover are declining, and natural disasters, such as wildfires and floods, are affecting more Canadian communities, more often. Every year of delay in sending strong, economy-wide policy signals represents a wasted opportunity to take advantage of natural cycles of infrastructure and equipment renewal, making it more difficult and expensive to meet emissions reduction targets. This explains why many major Canadian cities have climate change action plans - oddly, Ottawa does not. For an overview of other cities' climate change plans see Appendix 5. The reason for the investments among governments and businesses becomes clear once you review the numbers: In all scenarios, climate change is expected to impose accelerating costs in Canada, rising from an average value of $5 billion per year in 2020 to an average value of between $21 billion and $43 billion per year by 2050.6 Starting from a value of $339 billion in 2010, the global market for low carbon good and services will reach $3.9 trillion by 2050 under a business-as-usual scenario.7 Investments in energy efficiency and carbon reduction projects demonstrates that carbon reduction activities are generating positive return on investment,8 and companies achieving leadership positions on climate change generate superior stock performance.9

More information is provided below about the significance of FCM's PCP. National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy (Canada), Paying the Price: The Economic Impacts of Climate Change for Canada, 2011, p. 40. 7 National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy (Canada), Framing the Future: Embracing the Low-Carbon Economy, 2012, p. 41.
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In 2008, approximately 21,000 Canadians died from the effects of air pollution and almost 11,000 hospital admissions were estimated from exposure to air pollution; over 92,000 emergency department visits associated with air pollution exposure were estimated for 2008 (increasing to nearly 152,000 by 2031); and also for 2008, it was estimated that there was over 620,000 doctors office visits because of air pollution.10

GHG reduction initiatives provide highly strategic opportunities to attract and grow businesses within the low carbon goods and services economy; deliver greater value to taxpayers through era-appropriate infrastructure investments and efficiency measures; and significantly reduced healthcare costs. For an overview of the economic and health benefits of GHG reduction initiative see Appendix 6.

How to Build a Climate Change Plan: Determining Ottawa's Next Steps

Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) is a partnership between the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability). The PCP program is a network of more than 200 Canadian municipal governments committed to reducing GHGs and acting on climate change. PCPs five-milestone framework is a proven municipal strategy to cut GHGs and reduce energy consumption. Most Canadian cities are members of FCM's PCP program. These are the five PCP milestone: 11 Milestone 1: Create a Baseline Emissions Inventory and Forecast Milestone 2: Set Emissions Reduction Targets Milestone 3: Develop a Local Action Plan Milestone 4: Implement the Local Action Plan Milestone 5: Monitor Progress and Report Results In the past, the City has met all five milestones (although it did not make its GHG reduction commitments). Today, the City has allowed itself to revert to the rudimentary stages of the FCM framework - not even milestone one is being met - and is currently disinvesting in our climate change policy and planning capacity (ex. releasing staff, etc.). See Appendix 7 for an FCM/PCP introduction.

The Planning Landscape: Choosing a Rational Approach

In many ways, the responsibilities of the City's Environment Committee does not match the scope required to effectively lead or manage climate change planning. The horizontal nature of the numerous relevant policy and program areas, the number of business units within the City that report to other standing committees, ongoing and interrelated planning processes (in and outside of the City), and the
Carbon Disclosure Project, Carbon Action Report 2012: On behalf of 92 investors with assets of US$10 trillion, p. 6. Carbon Disclosure Project, CDP Global 500 Climate Change Report 2012: On behalf of 635 investors with assets of US$78 trillion, p. 5. 10 Canadian Medical Association, No Breathing Room: National Illness Costs of Air Pollution, 2008, p. iii. 11 FCM/ICLEI, Partners for Climate Change: Creating a Change in Climate Through Local Action, 2012.
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diversity of the necessary stakeholder engagement across Ottawa are all features that require higherlevel leadership and coordination for climate change planning to be effective. Instead, the GHG Roundtable may be circumscribed by an "environmental" focus, as defined by the responsibilities of the Environment Committee (ex. trees, green space, and waste, and not areas like finance, energy, public health, transportation, or other forms of land use planning). The reports provided by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and C40 Cities are required reading for any government or stakeholder pursuing a climate change planning initiative. The CDP is an independent not-for-profit organization working to drive GHG reduction and sustainable water use by business and cities; and C40 Cities is a network of the worlds megacities taking action to reduce GHG emissions. Cities like New York, Paris, Moscow, and Toronto recently participated in a C40-CDP partnership and landmark report describing climate change-related data in a standardized way (prepared by KPMG). Throughout the GHG Roundtable process, it will be important to consider how Ottawa compares to other world's most impressive cities. Here are a few immediately relevant points from the report:12 With only a few exceptions, climate change is an issue directed by the most senior leadership in C40 cities. 93 percent of disclosing cities state that overall responsibility for climate change sits at the top level (Governor, Mayor, city manager, or other chief executive of the city). One out of every two disclosing cities has created a special unit within the mayoral office responsible for the management and execution of energy and climate policy. An encouraging trend among C40 cities is the involvement of stakeholders in identifying, developing and implementing local solutions. 36 percent of disclosing cities include some combination of local citizens, businesses, and academic experts in decision-making processes related to climate change mitigation.

#ottghg is a Twitter, e-mail, and city-wide conversation focusing on era-appropriate climate change policy. Greenhouse gas reduction initiatives create jobs, increase economic productivity, save tax dollars, and save lives. For information regarding the #ottghg campaign contact: Martin Canning | 613-316-3929 | @MartinGCanning | canning.martin@gmail.com For information regarding Ecology Ottawa's involvement with the GHG Roundtable contact: Charles Hodgson | 613-728-2016 | @climate_o | chas.hodgson@gmail.com For general information regarding Ecology Ottawa contact: Trevor Hach (Policy Coordinator) | 613-860-5353 | @EcologyOttawa | trevor.hache@ecologyottawa.ca

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Carbon Disclosure Project, CDP Cities 2011: Global Report on C40 Cities, 2011, p. 8.

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