Today, the City of Toronto released its 2016 inventory on community-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The inventory indicates that GHG emissions in Toronto were 33 per cent lower in 2016 than in 1990, which puts the City half-way towards its 2030 GHG reduction target of 65 per cent.
While inventories are released annually, it takes 18 to 24 months for data collection and verification, creating a two-year gap prior to a municipal inventory release.
A greenhouse gas emissions inventory measures the emissions in a given region using data from energy use in buildings, vehicles, waste and industry. The City shares its inventory data annually via the C40 Cities network and follows the Greenhouse Gas Protocol https://ghgprotocol.org/ for community-scale GHG emission inventories.
Reporting annually on community-wide GHG emissions is part of the City’s commitment to transparency and accountability to address climate change, and to inform the development of its climate strategy and policy.
2016 GHG Inventory highlights include:
• Overall emissions were reduced 33 per cent from 1990 levels, while Toronto’s population and economy continued to grow
• Buildings accounted for 45 per cent of GHG emissions in Toronto, primarily from burning natural gas to heat indoor spaces and water
• 35 per cent of GHG emissions in Toronto came from transportation, 80 per cent from personal vehicles
• 20 per cent of GHG emissions came from waste, with food waste being the primary source.
With City Council’s unanimous adoption of TransformTO: Climate Action Strategy for a Healthy, Equitable and Prosperous Toronto in 2017, the City reaffirmed its commitment to reduce local GHG emissions by 30 per cent by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050, and established an additional interim target of 65 per cent by 2030.
A full dashboard of Toronto’s 2016 GHG emissions inventory is available on the C40 Cities website at https://www.c40.org/research/open_data/5. C40 Cities is a network of the world’s megacities committed to addressing climate change.
Information about the City of Toronto’s TransformTO Climate Action Strategy is available at: https://www.toronto.ca/transformto.
Information about City programs and incentives to help residents reduce emissions is available at: https://www.toronto.ca/livegreen.
Quotes
“Toronto is a recognized leader in tackling climate change and we continue to innovate to reduce emissions and improve the quality of life for residents. This latest inventory shows we’re on track. We’ll build on this momentum through the TransformTO Climate Action Strategy to transform how we live, build and travel to meet our long-term targets.”
– Mayor John Tory
“The City of Toronto takes evidence based action to tackle climate change, and annual GHG inventories are critical to our ability to understand whether climate action efforts are working. The most recent inventory shows our efforts are working, but that much more needs to be done to reach City Council’s GHG reduction goals.”
– Jim Baxter, Director of Environment and Energy.
Toronto is Canada’s largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of more than 2.9 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world’s most livable cities. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/cityoftoronto, on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/cityofto or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/cityofto.