Ontario’s long-awaited climate change action plan arrived Wednesday, following weeks of speculation, leaks and opposition jabs.

“Our society is on the cusp of a once-in-a-lifetime transition,” said Premier Kathleen Wynne in Toronto. “By making the choice to lead, as a government and as a society, we will improve our quality of life.”

The 85-page action plan contains dozens of measures (see below) aimed at reducing greenhouse gas pollution, with its provisions estimated to cut 9.8 million tonnes of emissions in 2020. That prediction is attached to a pricetag of $6-billion to $8.3 billion, which will be covered by the province’s coming cap-and-trade system. The carbon-pricing program will bring in a hoped-for $1.9 billion annually.

Costs aside, Wynne said she wasn’t willing to wait to take action. “If we’d acted differently 30 years ago, we’d be in a different place today,” she said. “We’re going to act now.”

The five-year action plan is the backbone of the Liberal government’s campaign to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 15 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, 37 per cent by 2030 and 80 per cent by 2050.

“Ontario can be proud of the strong action we are taking to fight climate change,” said Environment and Climate Change Minister Glen Murray.

Murray told reporters at Queen’s Park that the costing range was to account for fluctuations in the carbon market - Ontario can only spend what it raises from cap and trade. A recent auction by California and Quebec – which Ontario will eventually link its cap-and-trade system with – saw only about 10 per cent of GHG pollution permits bought up.

NDP energy and environment critic Peter Tabuns said the prospect of buying surplus credits from California would be concerning. He also claimed there was a lack of transparency and investments to help low-income households manage the costs of cap and trade and the action plan. “This can’t be a question of simply photo-ops and feel-good government commercials,” he said.

PC environment critic Lisa Thompson called for a cost-benefit analysis to be completed on the action plan. “What we heard today was a laundry list of Liberal promises based on money they don’t even have,” she told reporters.

The measures – some of which had already been announced by the government or published in newspapers – include (projected costs in brackets):

Establishing a “green bank” to bankroll low-carbon, large-scale industrial projects and to finance GHG-reducing improvements to homes
Update the building code to set “long-term energy efficiency targets for new net zero carbon emission small buildings that will come into effect by 2030 at the latest” – not ban natural gas, which had been a much-speculated about possibility
Incentivize electric vehicle leases or purchases with rebates of up to $14,000 apiece, as well as the buying and installing of home charging stations ($140 million to $160 million)
Beef up bicycling networks ($150 million to $225 million)
Speed up the Regional Express Rail system ($355 million to $675 million)
Retrofit social housing apartments ($380 million to $500 million)
Set up a fund for hospitals, colleges and universities to tap for energy-efficient retrofits ($400 million to $800 million)
Help homeowners buy geothermal heat pumps and other low-carbon technologies ($500 million to $600 million)
Direct cap-and-trade proceeds towards covering the costs of GHG reduction initiatives already being paid by residential and industrial electricity consumers ($1 billion to $1.32 billion)
Fund free energy audits, which will be mandatory before new or existing houses can be put up for sale ($200 million to $250 million)
Help businesses transition to low-carbon technologies ($875 million to $1.1 billion)
More research and development into clean technology ($140 million to $235 million)
Create a “Global Centre for Low Carbon Mobility” at one of Ontario’s universities ($100 million to $140 million)

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Twitter: @geoffzochodne

‘We’re going to act now’: Ontario’s $8.3-billion climate change plan unveiled

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