Stratford’s corporate energy and emissions plan receives overwhelming public support

Local students, environmental advocates, members of the city’s energy and environment advisory committee and others have put their full support behind a comprehensive plan aimed at guiding the City of Stratford toward meeting its greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets over the next three decades.

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Presented to councilors by city climate change programs manager Sadaf Ghalib at Tuesday’s infrastructure, transportation and safety committee meeting, Stratford’s corporate energy and emissions plan lays out a long-term vision to help the city and council identify actions that would need to be implemented to achieve Stratford’s goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, as well as its interim goal of reducing emissions by 30 per cent from the city’s 2017 baseline emissions levels by 2030 and a newly proposed interim goal of reducing emissions 60 per cent by 2040.

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“The corporate energy and emissions plan is the best course of action the City of Stratford can take to prevent irreversible harm to our community,” Stratford District secondary school student and Eco Club member Nathan Bean told councilors at Tuesday’s meeting.

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“If we maintain a business-as-usual approach to climate change, by 2030 we will see an overall emissions increase of nine per hundred annually,” added fellow student and Eco Club member Jocelyn Williams. “If we maintain this high level of emissions, the planet will continue to warm at a rapid rate. By acting now to reduce emissions and spending money in the short term, we will ultimately save money in the long term by minimizing the harms of global warming.”

In addition to the student environmental activists, Ian Morton and Sharon Collingwood, the chair and vice chair of Stratford’s energy and environment advisory committee, as well as local environmental activist Lesley Walker-Fitzpatrick, also spoke in favor of the city’s proposed corporate energy and emissions plan at Tuesday’s meeting. Furthermore, the city received 15 letters of support for the plan from Stratford residents, including a letter on behalf of the Rotary Club of Stratford from its president, Peter Maranger.

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To achieve the emissions reduction targets set by council when it issued its climate emergency declaration in 2020, as well as the new interim target for 2040 that will be considered by council at a future meeting, the plan includes 31 strategies to accomplish nine goals. Those goals include demonstrating the city’s leadership in creating and facilitating change, maximizing energy efficiency in the delivery of city services, building new developments with net-zero or net-positive energy and emissions standards, transitioning to a zero-emission fleet and low-carbon equipment, aggressively pursuing local, renewable and low-impact energy sources, and monitoring and reporting on energy and emissions annually, among others.

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“According to the 2017 baseline, (city) facilities and fleet accounted for the majority of our emissions at 44 per cent and 37 per cent, respectively,” Ghalib said. “That is upwards of 5,114 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Considering this breakdown, it is critical that we advance strategies for decarbonizing our existing buildings and developing sustainable new buildings, as well as plan for a low-carbon fleet. Other emissions (come from) infrastructure operations, outdoor lighting and solid waste, which we aim to address concurrently.”

If approved at a future council meeting, the plan will see the city begin to advance the strategies that can be implemented this year within the city’s staffing and budget capacity. City staff will also explore grant opportunities and develop a funding strategy for council’s consideration, and bring specific projects identified by the plan for consideration during the city’s annual budget process.

Ghalib said she will also be bringing forward a community climate action plan in early 2024 intended to guide emissions reduction efforts in Stratford beyond those being undertaken by the city.

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