Yes, I might seem slightly obsessed with the nonsensical “climate emergency
declarations” passed by just about every Canadian municipality, but I have good reason
to be. Our municipal politicians might have thought they were engaging in good old-
fashioned and meaningless sloganeering and virtue signalling when they passed these
a few years ago, just before the Covid pandemic, but those declarations are coming
back to haunt them – and us!
Following the adoption of the alarmist declarations, the next phase in the green left’s
bullying of local councillors was to get them to adopt some version of what amounts to a
“green master plan” – a climate emergency manifesto that outlines broad goals and
even specific targets for future action. The green left activists never stop, and they
didn’t stop on this file: they wanted action.
Let me use the City of Ottawa – the subject of an earlier blogpost – as a case in point.
Ottawa’s climate emergency master plan was pushed through Council in 2020 and it
certainly goes beyond virtue-signalling. Its central component, called Energy Evolution,
includes a goal to transition the city to zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by the
year 2050 (also known as “Net Zero by 2050”). In its own words, the plan contains
“ambitious” targets to transition to low carbon energy sources which will “reduce the
effects of climate change, grow our local economy and create jobs, improve public
health, improve social equity, and increase climate resiliency.” Ambitious indeed! This is
certainly more than sloganeering!
By its own admission, the Energy Evolution transition plan will require “concerted
efforts” and the “scope and scale required is unprecedented in both action and
investment.” That could be called a massive understatement. Here are the city’s key
“stretch goals” from the plan:
“All fossil fuels will have to be phased out”!
They lead with the big one here. It doesn’t get much more ambitious than this. Evidently,
councillors didn’t consider the impact on energy reliability and affordability for hundreds
of thousands of homeowners and businesses, particularly during Ottawa’s cold winters.
Currently, natural gas is a primary source of heating. Phasing it out would lead to
increased energy costs and potential shortages, especially during peak demand times –
like winter. A mandated phase-out of natural gas means that residents would face steep
energy bills, power outages, or both—and those least able to afford it would suffer the
most. I will devote an entire column to this topic, but here’s the spoiler: this goal will
never be achieved because it is simply not possible. And the dangerous efforts to head
in that direction will bring about untold suffering for Ottawa’s residents and devasting
effects for the city’s economy.
Next up from the city’s green master plan: “heating and transportation systems will have
to be nearly fully electrified” and “renewable electricity (mostly wind and solar)
generation and electricity storage will be required to meet demand.”
These goals encompass homes, businesses, cars, trucks, public transportation; in other
words, everything. Let’s take a look at how that could play out. Wind and solar currently
make up only about 7% of the country’s installed electricity generation. Installed is a key
word here: it means the facilities are there, but not always working. When they don’t
work, something else must, which means you build a second, back-up, system that is
always available – usually natural gas. So you in fact pay for two systems. Ontario
taxpayers already subsidize 70 per cent of the cost of electricity in the province.
Subsidies to keep wind and solar power superficially affordable for power users cost the
government $3 billion a year. In total, Ontario will spend $7.3 billion this year on various
electricity subsidies. How many more taxpayer dollars will have to be thrown at
electricity in order to increase that 7% wind and solar number or to “fully electrify”
everything? And how long will it be before we are all mandated to relinquish our
gasoline or diesel-powered vehicles? (If we can’t afford a new electric replacement car,
there’s always public transit – how is that going, Ottawa?)
You get the picture: Ottawa’s municipal politicians got bullied by the green left to adopt
insane climate policies. But now the pressure is on to enforce them, and that pressure is
coming from many corners – including the likes of Mark Carney, Gerald Butts, and their
ilk. My next column will explain how that is working out.