Mayoral candidates roll out their plans to tackle climate change
First municipal election since city declared climate emergency in 2019
When it comes to Ottawa's municipal election campaigns, climate change has never received as much attention as it has in this one.
The outgoing council declared a climate emergency in 2019, then issued a climate change master plan and forged a long list of ways to hit the target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Council has only ever funded a sliver of the first phase of the city's "Energy Evolution," a list of 20 projects slated to be completed by 2025. Some of the key candidates running for mayor, though, are now pledging to take action on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing energy efficiency.
Catherine McKenney, who announced earlier this week they would work with the National Capital Commission and Parks Canada to designate the Greenbelt a national urban park, is promising the city will be carbon neutral by 2050, in line with Ottawa's climate change master plan.
Their climate change platform includes:
- Retrofitting city buildings through a partnership with Hydro Ottawa, with the city paying back the cost (with interest) over seven years.
- Incentivizing homeowners' "deep retrofits" by leveraging municipal and federal programs.
- Protecting green space and increasing the tree canopy by 40 per cent over the next decade.
- Creating safe and walkable neighbourhoods that include bike infrastructure and low-emission transit.
- Extending the life of the Trail Road landfill by diverting at least 70 per cent of city waste.
- Investing up to $2 million annually to install hundreds of public charging stations for electric vehicles and e-bikes across the city, starting with spending $1 million in 2023. They'd be purchased through a public procurement.
- Implementing a green roof bylaw for large and small buildings.
- Designing a climate resiliency plan.
Speaking Thursday in front of a south Ottawa pine forest that's been targeted for development in the past, McKenney expressed hope their plan would serve as a "catalyst" for further climate investments.
"If we help you to retrofit your home, that is a way for homeowners to be able to be part of the solution," McKenney said.
"The city's not going to buy electric vehicles or electric bikes for everyone — but if we invest in the infrastructure that you need, the charging stations, that is how we unlock those investments."
All new buildings would have to be carbon neutral by 2030, McKenney said. As for city properties, McKenney said the goal was to have 30 per cent of large buildings like arenas and rec centres retrofitted by 2040 and 80 per cent by 2050.
The downtown councillor called it a "plan for everyone," citing housing retrofits and free transit for youth as policies that would resonate city-wide.
"We'll make Ottawa a world leader for climate action," McKenney said. "And the people who live here will be climate leaders, too."
While McKenney has been rolling out their environmental platform this week in stages, Mark Sutcliffe told CBC he released his plan a month ago to show he was serious about addressing climate change at a municipal level.
He's promising to work with Hydro Ottawa to install 200 electric vehicle charging stations and another 100 e-bike charging stations across the city. Taxpayers wouldn't be out of pocket for the installation, and Hydro Ottawa would recoup their costs from the revenue from the charging stations.
Sutcliffe is also promising to undertake $100 million in energy upgrades and retrofits to city buildings over four years, also in partnership with Hydro Ottawa, and to build new facilities to a net-zero emissions standard.
He compares his plan for city buildings to a home renovation.
"If you buy more energy-efficient appliances or you put in better windows, there's an upfront cost, but your energy costs go down and so you recover those costs over time as you save money on energy — and it's better for the environment," he said.
He'd also plant one million trees over the next term of office, more than double what the city has planted in the last four years.
"These are all meaningful steps that will reduce emissions and in the long run save taxpayers money on energy," he told CBC.
He said he'd have to re-evaluate the city's climate change master plan to see how it lines up with his "comprehensive" plan.
Other parts of Sutcliffe's climate platform include:
- Converting the city's fleet to fully electric or hybrid vehicles by 2030, and encouraging emergency responders to adopt electric vehicles.
- Adopting "proven" zero-emission waste-to-energy systems, as opposed to siting a new landfill.
- Identifying "missing links" in the cycling and pedestrian network to include them in the city's long-term capital plan.
- Working with other levels of government to "incentivize" the city's largest private polluters to lower their carbon emissions.
- Accelerating district heating initiatives at LeBreton Flats, city hall and the provincial courthouse
- Establish robust disaster recovery plans to respond to extreme weather events and buy more generators for city buildings.
Other candidates share their ideas
Other candidates, meanwhile, have other ideas on climate change.
Mike Maguire, for example, says Energy Evolution "will bankrupt the city."
The plan would cost $57.4 billion, or $31.8 billion in today's dollars, but the savings of those more efficient buildings and electric cars would start to offset the costs starting in 2032, according to the city.
However, the city doesn't expect local taxpayers to pick up the tab — upper levels of government and the private sector would have to do their part over many years.
Maguire is advocating for a newer form of nuclear energy to power Ottawa, and fixing transit so commuters can "leave their cars at home."
Both Brandon Bay and Param Singh support the idea of 15-minute neighbourhoods, where amenities are within a 15-minute walk of residents' homes, as well as the city's climate change master plan.
Bay is also in favour of moving toward district energy systems, planting more fruit and nut trees, and installing more electric vehicle charging stations. Singh says he would commit to the climate change master plan to achieve zero emissions by 2050, as well as replacing trees and green space that are lost to development.
Bob Chiarelli, who has stated he'll recommend the city delay its planned purchase of electric buses, will release his climate plan later in the campaign.
Five mayoral candidates — Bay, Chiarelli, Nour Kadri, McKenney and Sutcliffe — have been invited to participate in a debate on the environment and climate justice at the Centretown United Church on Sept. 28.
Election day is set for Oct. 24.
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