To: Minister of Environment…

To: Minister of Environment and Climate Change [sic]
Re: Comment on Bill 4, Cap and Trade Cancellation Act, 2018

BIG STEPS

I would like the province of Ontario to take big steps in reducing the type of emissions and pollution that are causing climate change and global warming. Recent reports warn of dire consequences if we do not make unprecedented efforts in cutting fossil-fuel use. I would also strongly request that more be done on climate change adaptation. We are all in for a rough ride and we need to work together to effectively deal with climate change impacts.

ONTARIO NEEDS A REAL CLIMATE CHANGE PLAN

A real climate change plan to reduce emissions will help people save energy and create jobs. It would include Ontario putting a price on pollution, making polluters pay for their emissions and returning the revenues to Ontarians so we can lower our carbon footprint.

We need legally binding emissions targets in line with our obligations to the Paris Climate Agreement. Let’s commit ourselves to having an Ontario 100% powered by clean energy by 2050, or before. Let’s have an Ontario that does not subsidise dead-end industries (i.e., fossil fuel companies) and instead, use these funds to build clean energy solutions.

COSTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE

A 2017 Bank of Canada report warns us that climate change and extreme weather will cost the Canadian economy more than $20 billion per year by 2050 unless provinces reduce their carbon footprints.
Source: https://www.bankofcanada.ca/2017/03/thermometer-rising-climate-change-c…

RUN AWAY CLIMATE CHANGE = RISK OF EXTREME DROUGHT, WILDFIRES, FLOODS, FOOD SHORTAGES…

The recently released report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), warns that the planet will reach the crucial threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius (C) above pre-industrial levels by as early as 2030, advancing the risk of extreme drought, wildfires, floods and food shortages for hundreds of millions of people.

We have been informed that our planet is already two-thirds of the way there, with global temperatures having warmed about 1 degree C. Not going even higher will require significant action in the next few years.

"The window on keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees C is closing rapidly and the current emissions pledges made by signatories to the Paris Agreement do not add up to us achieving that goal," Andrew King, a lecturer in climate science at the University of Melbourne added King.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/07/world/climate-change-new-ipcc-report-wxc…

CURRENT EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS IN MY REGION

Tornadoes on Friday, September 21 [this year]: “While the Ottawa region is not immune to this type of weather, a storm of this intensity has never occurred there, explained Global News chief meteorologist Anthony Farnell.^

“What made the setup on Friday particularly dangerous was that a strong ‘fall-like’ storm was interacting with near record summer heat and humidity,” Farnell said. “The timing of the front moving through Ottawa also maximized the amount of heating that occurred during the afternoon giving even more energy to the storms.”

Excerpt from article by Rebecca Joseph, National Online Journalist,
Breaking News, Global News September 24-25, 2018