Environmental committee votes for ambitious greenhouse gas cuts

A Saskatoon city council committee endorsed ambitious new greenhouse gas reduction targets on Monday, but wants to ensure a plan is in place to reach them.

The environment, utilities and corporate services committee voted unanimously to adopt new targets for the City of Saskatoon and for the overall community at Monday’s meeting.

The new targets propose reducing emissions by 15 per cent of 2014 levels by 2023 and by 80 per cent of 2014 levels by 2050. For the City of Saskatoon as a corporation, the targets are 40 per cent of 2014 levels by 2023 and 80 per cent by 2050.

Achieving the targets would appear to require a huge turnaround, since a 2016 city report showed community emissions rose by 12.6 per cent from 2003 to 2014. In the same period, emissions by Saskatoon’s municipal government jumped 38.7 per cent.

“If we’re not serious about the implementation plan, then let’s not set these targets,” Coun. Mairin Loewen said. “I want to be realistic about the work we have to do.”

Council’s previous emissions reduction targets were adopted in 2009 using 1990 as the base year. That target was based on the Kyoto Accord, from which Canada withdrew in 2012.

The targets endorsed Monday were proposed by the Saskatoon environmental advisory committee, which offers suggestions to city council and committees. The advisory committee embraced the targets because its members think they can be achieved.

The targets seem likely to be adopted, since the six committee members who backed them on Monday would be sufficient to win a vote at council.

“It’s very exciting to have these in front of us, but also a little daunting,” Coun. Hilary Gough said.

The committee also backed setting supplemental targets every five years after 2023.

Coun. Troy Davies voted in favour of the new targets, but expressed concern about the costs associated with them.

“I’m not prepared to pass anything until I know what it’s going to do to our budget,” Davies said.

Jeff Jorgenson, the city’s acting general manager of corporate performance, said the committee and city council will see the costs associated with the initiatives.

Mayor Charlie Clark said council needs to keep in mind the cost of failing to adapt to climate change through reducing emissions.

“There’s costs if we do (reduce emissions), but I also think there’s costs if we don’t,” Clark said.

Reducing carbon emissions by 15 per cent will decrease the amount the city will have to pay under the federal government’s carbon pricing plan in 2018, perhaps by as much as $2.5 million, the report says. To achieve a 15 per cent reduction, the community would have to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 580,000 tonnes or 64,500 each year until 2023, a city report says. That’s the equivalent of every person currently living in Saskatoon reducing their emissions by 2.3 tonnes, the report adds.

The city will apply to a Federation of Canadian Municipalities program to help craft a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the report says. There is $100,000 in an existing fund that would cover the city’s 20 per cent share to come up with a plan, it adds.

The report points out that nearly 90 per cent of emissions in Saskatoon come from energy consumption by buildings and transportation.