About 30 members attended a workshop on Toronto’s new climate change strategy and the impact would have on the local electricity grid.
Run by Toronto Environmental Alliance Executive Director Franz Hartmann, the workshop looked at the three main pillars of the City’s plan, Transform TO. The three pillars are low-carbon neighbourhoods, preparing for electric mobility and training the workforce needed to help us transition to a low-carbon way of life.
Hartmann stressed that the climate change strategy was developed in a way that both positions Toronto to achieve its carbon reduction targets while also addressing the major issues facing Toronto like housing, transportation and jobs.
“Whether you believe that climate change is a pressing issue or just want a better city that we can all afford to live in, Transform TO is what we need,” said Hartmann.
In looking at the impact of adapting to climate change and accommodating a low-carbon transportation system, Hartmann focused on the capacity and resiliency required of Toronto’s electricity grid. Toronto will, he said, will need a more distributed power system with appropriate redundancy in the network so in the event of outages an electric-dependant transportation infrastructure can continue to be replied upon.
While Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA) is a non-governmental organization, it has been key in shaping the climate change plan and is advocating at Toronto City Hall for the passage of the plan and to have it funded with $6.5 million in the 2018 municipal budget. TEA has been an important ally of SEP, particularly in the successful campaign to stop Toronto Hydro privatization.
Following the workshop, SEP president Scott Travers signed a letter along with 35 other civic leaders calling on Toronto City Council to adopt the Transform TO climate change strategy.
