Environment

"Toronto faces real and serious risks from the impacts of climate change ranging from: heatwaves affecting the sick and the old; to declines in water quality and quantity as lake and river levels decline; storm water overflow from intensifying precipitation (something that is happening already); to extreme events leading to transmission failures, black-outs and costly impacts on city infrastructure. In summary, real impacts on health, quality of life and the city's economy."

- Louise Comeau, Director of the Sage Climate Project and former Director of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Centre for Sustainable Communities, Plenary Speaker at Toronto Summit 2007

The challenges all around us seem daunting. Urban sprawl and traffic congestion are increasing. Our current population of well over five million people - half of them in the City of Toronto - will grow to 7.3 million people by 2020. Investment in public transit has not kept up with population growth. Our building stock is aging and energy inefficient. Our rivers and lakes are under assault from pollutants and contaminants washed into storm drains during wet weather. Every summer, beaches are closed for days because they aren't safe. And the human toll is significant. According to Ontario Medical Association estimates, smog contributed to over 2,600 premature deaths in the GTA in 2007 and resulted in over 7,600 hospital admissions.

In some areas we are making progress; innovative environmental programs dot the region. The Greenbelt is a world-leading example of protected land in an urban region. Properly implemented and maintained it can have an enormous impact on greenhouse gas emissions, green space, and air and water quality. Our municipalities have also developed substantive programs to divert more and more residential waste and many have announced ambitious goals for the future. We have a diverse and talented population that is ready for action on the environment, and we are fortunate to have strong and skilled environmental organizations that are passionate about solving problems ranging from climate change to smog. We also have in the Greater Golden Horseshoe one of the most powerful collections of scientists and researchers in the world; they can drive innovation across a wide swath of green technologies. In short, we are starting from a position of strength.

¹ Sources: Statistics Canada estimates, 2007, and projections of Ontario Ministry of Finance (http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/english/economy/demographics/projections/demog08t9gta.html)

² Source: Ontario Medical Association, Illness Costs of Air Pollution study, 2007.

³ Participation levels in the March 29, 2008, Earth Hour event demonstrated the growing environmental awareness of Ontarians. Of the about 300 cities and municipalities that officially participated worldwide, 85 were in Ontario. From 2005 to 2007, Ontario's per capita energy consumption dropped 4.6 per cent (Conservation Bureau Annual Report 2007, Supplementary Results, June 2008).