Climate emergency plan requires 'unprecedented' change to how Londoners live, work and commute

Clock ticking on London's climate emergency plan CTV's Daryl Newcombe looks at the city's draft action plan and the community-wide changes needed to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

London has less than a decade to undergo a community-wide shift in order to achieve the first of three greenhouse gas emission milestones.

City Hall has just unveiled its draft Climate Emergency Action Plan (CEAP) that aims to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, build resilience to impacts and include everyone in the effort.

“It's a 30-year plan and we are doing it in chunks, or milestones,” explains Jay Stanford, director of Climate Change, Environment and Waste Management.

City council declared a climate emergency on April 24, 2019.

Since then, civic administration has received 2,700 responses from the public while developing the draft plan.

Achieving the city’s 2050 target will require meeting the first set of milestones in just eight years.

“Change does not come without hard work,” Stanford says, and to be successful every household and business will have to participate. “It does come with a commitment and a very substantial effort to move a community the size of London in that direction.”

Emission milestones (Source: City of London)

Rather than eight to 10-year objectives, Skylar Franke, executive director of the London Environmental Network, recommends four-year milestones tied to council terms.

“Therefore, councillors are responsible for achieving those emission reductions during their term. I would like to see some shorter timelines like Guelph recently set.”

The following goals have been set for 2030:

There are also a number of less specific goals involving household climate change preparedness and acknowledgment of personal impacts.

GHG emissions required by household (Source: City of London)

“The level of effort by Londoners, employees, employers and visitors to make the adjustments and changes required is unprecedented,” reads the report.

Franke believes the plan will galvanize the community to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“Everyone will have a different amount they have to reduce by, and different opportunities, but everyone does need to make those changes,” explains Franke.

The plan emphasizes the economic benefits of reduced energy usage.

Currently, London businesses and households spend $1.5 billion each year on energy, and 90 per cent of that money leaves the local economy.

London is already on a positive trajectory, but achieving the CEAP targets will require even greater effort.

According to the report, “Total community greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 were over 2.7 million tonnes. This is 22 per cent lower than the 1990 level and well below the 15 per cent target that had been set for 2020.”

Personal vehicles remain the primary source of greenhouse gas emissions in London.

That means less driving of greenhouse gas-emitting vehicles.

Emission sources in London (Source: City of London)

On Feb. 8, city council will sit as the Strategic Priorities and Policy committee, and consider hold a public meeting (at a future date) about the draft report.

Stanford says a lot more analysis is required before he can estimate the cost of meeting the targets versus doing nothing.

“Is it millions? Is it billions? We sure hope it’s in the millions, but even then, the question is going to be what are the incremental costs?”