Pandemic dropped Ottawa's emissions, but more action urged to make it a trend

As the global climatesummit winds down in Scotland, residents here in Ottawa facetheir own challenges in order to hit local targets for cutting greenhouse gases.

The City of Ottawa released its annual inventory a few weeks ago, whichshowed a decrease of 10 per cent in emissionsin 2020compared to 2019. Staff attribute that to people staying homeduring pandemic lockdownswith their vehicles parked.

As one might expect, and what city staff predict, emissions will rebound as people return to more normal lives.

Yetthe community as a whole must keep reducing greenhouse gasesby five to six per cent eachyear to meet the 2025 target of a43-per-cent reduction below2012 levels. The city's long-term plan is to be fully net zero by 2050.

People who watch city efforts closely, as well as those of the community at large, say that feat is not impossible, but it's unlikely. It will take more than the municipal government with each business, resident, and upper levels of government pulling their weight.

• City's path to 'net zero' emissions by 2050 to cost billions
• Net-zero emissions plan a pipe dream without funding help, chair says

"Climate change is a global pandemic that we're treating like a cold, while our buildings and cars are coughing out climate virus and we're not even doing it into our elbows," said Steve Winkelman, executive director of the Ottawa Climate Action Fund, a new initiative by the Ottawa Community Foundation that has a $22-millionendowment to invest in projects.

Angela Keller-Herzog agrees residents have to "bend the curve" as they did with COVID-19 spread. She is the executive directorof Community Associations for Environmental Sustainability, ran for the Green Party of Canada in the recent federal election,and she's a regular presenter at city committee meetings.

"I don't think,[in] the bigger picture, we're on track, no," she said. "We need urgent and real climate action and it's not going to just happen by itself."

She points to the younger generation who protested in Glasgow last weekendcriticizing leaders for "greenwashing." Much of the hope and action will need to come at the local level, Keller-Herzog said.

Home heating, vehicles the big emitters

The city takes stock each year of two sets of emissions for two sets oftargets: municipal operationsand the Ottawa community.

Emissions from city operations are on track to drop even lower than the2025 goal of a 30 per cent reduction below2012 levels. Staff credit work doneat the Trail Road landfillto cut down on the gases given off by garbage. The diesel-fuelled bus fleet remains the city'sbiggestemitter.

As for the broader community, natural gas used to heat buildings and the fuels combusted while driving cause the vast majority of emissions.

That makes retrofitting buildings a key priority. Keller-Herzogsuggests planning ahead for the daya furnace might break down and consider installinga heat pump system, where hot or cool air is exchanged outside depending on the time of year. She acknowledges such systems are still pricey.

• ANALYSIS | Despite recent price hikes, heating with gas is still so cheap it's going to be hard to kick the habit

Owners of apartment complexes and small businessesshould also look at how they can better retrofit their buildings, she said.

Municipal measures

Keller-Herzogpointed to the newinterest-free loan program the city is rolling out this month to encourage home retrofits.

In his budget speech last week, Mayor Jim Watson also highlighted the $55 million for 74 electric buses Ottawa intends to buy next year to start moving its fleet away from diesel.

• OC Transpo to spend $1B to bring in electric bus fleet by 2027
• City of Ottawa to launch its own home retrofit program

Implementing the new official plan is critical, adds Winkelman, because residents willcut downondriving dramatically if Ottawa can live up to its goal of creating walkable, 15-minute neighbourhoods.

But both say the City of Ottawa could do much, much more.

Keller-Herzog watched the city spend yearsmodelling and crafting a climate plan, but says ithas to put more than the variableHydro Ottawa dividend towardit it's pegged at $800,000 for2022 compared to $2.6 million the year before.

"If you look through the draft $4-billion city budget, you wouldn't necessarily know we're in a climate emergency," Winkelmanagreed.

Both suggest Ottawa could use more staff working on climate files to help take advantage of the billionsflowing from federal funding programsfor climate, transit and housing.

"How do we seize this moment? How canthe two Ottawas the federal Ottawa and the local Ottawa actually make Ottawa the greenest capital in the world?" asked Winkelman.

Climate spending is expected to be a topic next Tuesdaywhen Ottawa's standing committee on environmental protection, water and waste managementmeetsto discuss its portion of the 2022 draft budget.