Transform TO: Climate Action for a Healthy, Equitable and Prosperous City

While the City of Toronto’s 2013 GHG inventory report estimated a 24% drop below 1990 levels in city-wide GHG emissions, the next tranche of reductions will require a much more concerted effort in terms of citizen engagement and evidence to support transformative policy and municipal decision making. In response to this need, as well as to emerging international consensus on GHG emissions reporting methodology, the City of Toronto wishes to revise its PCP community and corporate milestones through Transform TO, a multi-stage initiative focused on actions that support GHG reduction targets for 2020 and 2050. The initiative is a joint project of the City of Toronto’s Environment and Energy Division and the Toronto Atmospheric Fund. This grant application focuses on Phase I of Transform TO, which will create a short term 2020 action plan and initiate a 2050 strategy for transformation. The 2017-2020 climate action plan aims to reach Toronto’s interim target of 30 percent reduction in city-wide greenhouse gas reductions by 2020 (from 1990 levels) and set the reduction trajectory to 2050. The short term plan will include updated data and GHG emissions inventory methods for PCP Milestone One, and will focus on specific immediate actions to support achievement of the 2020 targets for PCP Milestone Three. The 2050 Strategy will support future Climate Action Plans by establishing long-term low-carbon policy directions. The development of the 2020 plan, along with the 2050 strategy, will include technical modelling exercises that will provide information to assist in improving quality of data input to future modelling and monitoring exercises, and to pinpoint areas where more in-depth data development and modelling will strengthen and improve the design of programs designed to drive GHG reductions. Both the short term plan and long range strategy will evaluate technical potential of actions to provide GHG reductions and feasibility of implementing measures. Furthermore, short and long term strategies will also use periodic GHG inventory reports and other key metrics to track progress against proposed targets. TransformTO Phase I will also employ a multi-criteria analysis approach to more fully understand the co-benefits and co-harms in terms of community health, social equity and economic prosperity of undertaking (and failing to undertake) deep carbon reduction measures. This phase will include the engagement of over 1000 Toronto residents, though public and community-hosted events, and online workbooks. A Modelling Advisory Group of diverse leaders from the community at large and from the Toronto Public Service will refine and recommend technical models informed by the public’s input on proposed approaches and priorities. Building on the climate strategy developed in 2007 (GMF7084), this initiative also links with Toronto’s updated Strategic Plan (2012) and other operational and sector-specific plans that assess the economic, social, and environmental prosperity of the city. These linkages provide strong support for a GHG plan that will work with a number of departments and senior managers in a thorough, collaborative, and engaging manner. The outcomes of Phase I will include steps in developing the next short term action plan (2020 to 2025), as well as community engagement and modelling and research steps towards the long term strategy. The modelling advisory group and multi-criteria analysis of the initiative will provide strong knowledge value in the design of plans that tackle complex and multiple elements in large cities. The comprehensive citizen engagement strategy also demonstrates the potential to support climate change actions, which in some cases has proven to be more effective than legislative approaches. (Project description from original funding application)