Toronto, 31 May, 2011 – The Ontario government will not, with its current programs, meet its targets for reducing greenhouse gases (GHGs). This is one conclusion from the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario’s 2011 Greenhouse Gas Progress Report, released today.

• Click to download the full report
• Click to watch videos of the Commissioner outlining key points of the report:
  • Overview
  • Recommendations
• Click for more information about the report

“Recently released federal government data indicate that Ontario’s GHG emissions in 2009 were at the levels the government wants to achieve by 2014,” Miller says. “While the drop in GHGs is encouraging, it is highly likely that emissions have increased each year since 2009 with the return of economic growth. So I expect the government will need to renew its efforts to meet its 2014 reduction target.”

The Commissioner says this highlights the need for governments to break the link between GDP growth and GHG emissions. Miller is convinced the best way to do this is to put a price on carbon. “It is unfortunate the Ontario government recently announced a delay in participating in a regional cap-and-trade system.” Noting that the industrial sector is responsible for 30% of Ontario’s GHGs, Miller says “putting a price on carbon now will guide investment decisions, and help families, businesses and municipalities transition to a low-carbon economy.”

Miller is also concerned with the lack of action in reducing emissions from the transportation sector. “The transportation sector is responsible for almost a third of all emissions, making it the largest contributor of GHGs in the province” says Miller. The Ontario government is cutting back programs it’s using to reduce transportation emissions. It has cancelled a tax credit for fuel-efficient vehicles as well as the Ontario Bus Replacement Program, and frozen funding for the Green Commercial Vehicle program. “The government needs to make a much more concerted effort to control this large and growing source of emissions, if it hopes to meet its near and medium-term reduction targets”

The Commissioner says the government must also begin a serious discussion about tolls and road pricing, in order to lessen traffic congestion. “We have to reduce the number of single-passenger vehicle trips in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area. They are already at a higher level than in most global cities, and car traffic is expected to increase by another 7% by 2020,” says Miller. “Traffic congestion is more than just an inconvenience; it imposes huge costs on the economy, the environment, and public health.”

For more information, contact:
Hayley Easto
Communications and Outreach Coordinator
Environmental Commissioner of Ontario
416-325-3371 / 416-819-1673
1-800-701-6454
hayley.easto@eco.on.ca

It’s the beginning of summer and the heat is on. With the high temperatures forecasted for tomorrow, it is fitting that three key reports on climate change are scheduled for release on Tuesday.

The first is from the Canadian government. Under the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act, the federal Minister of the Environment is required to prepare a climate change plan by May 31 of each year. Not only must the plan describe what measures the federal government has taken to meet its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol, it is also supposed to outline the greenhouse gas reductions that are to occur for each year up to and including 2012.

Halfway around the world, the Australian government is moving forward with putting a price on carbon. Tomorrow, the government’s chief climate change advisor will release a report recommending new governance arrangements. The proposal would remove politicians from having direct involvement in setting emissions reduction targets and determining which sectors are to be included in a proposed carbon pricing scheme. The plan is scheduled to begin in 2012 with an initial carbon price of $20 per tonne. Administration of the scheme would be the responsibility of an independent “carbon bank” that would be responsible for issuing and auctioning permits for emissions, and for ensuring overall compliance and stability of the carbon market.

Closer to home, I will be releasing my third annual greenhouse gas progress report. In this report, I point out that the province is not on track to achieve its 2014 target, despite what appear to be promising numbers for 2009. Renewed economic growth will cause emissions to increase in the absence of stronger initiatives. Similar to what is happening in Australia, carbon pricing is a central component of any effective policy response. Tune in tomorrow for further details!

The United Nations designated tomorrow, May 22, the International Day for Biological Diversity, to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues around the world.

To celebrate this year, the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario has created a quiz to test your knowledge on biodiversity! Click here to take the quiz and enter in a draw to win a fleece vest featuring the Environmental Commissioner’s logo.

Results from the quiz will be posted on World Environment Day on June 5. Check back to see how you measured up to other quiz-takers!

Good luck!

This is the second post in a three-part series. Click to read the first post, Weeds Taking Over Your Lawn? Try Compost.

The soil food web consists of a multitude of creatures, from microscopic bacteria to earthworms and moles (see Figure 1). At the bottom of this web are bacteria and fungi. These microbes form the base of the pyramid of all soil life, and by extension, all terrestrial life. By breaking down organic matter and dissolving minerals for their own consumption, they provide the basis for nutrient cycling in soils. The larger food web organisms, such as protozoa and nematodes, eat the bacteria and fungi, and then excrete many of the nutrients into the soil in plant-available form.

The Soil Food Web (U.S. Dept. of Agriculture)

The contribution of these microbes does not end there. Bacteria and fungi are largely responsible for soil structure. Bacteria secrete glues that bind tiny particles of soil together. The fungi grow threads (called fungal “hyphae” – see Figure 2), which bind these smaller aggregates into larger ones, giving soil its porosity and loose, crumbly structure.

Without a good proportion of both bacteria and fungi, soils tend to become compacted, with less oxygen and reduced water-holding capacity, creating the hard-packed, stressed soils in which weeds thrive.  Since many home owners don’t add organic matter to their lawns and often eliminate the only major source by removing grass clippings, fungi are starved of available nutrients. Bacteria, on the other hand, can thrive under all kinds of harsh conditions. Accordingly, many of our lawns are unbalanced and “bacterial dominated,” deficient in beneficial fungi. This situation constitutes an open invitation to weeds, who are nature’s “first responders” when soils are damaged or stressed. Their job is to grow rapidly, die, and decay, and by doing so increase the organic matter in the soil, so that the fungi can slowly come back into balance. Weeds are by their very nature suited to bacterial soils because they are the first vital step in nature’s long-term remedy for disturbed ecosystems.

Fungal hyphae under a microscope (jollyfarmernursery.com)

By adding compost, we can quicken the process of bringing a damaged turf soil back into equilibrium. Compost raises the level of organic matter in soil, making it better for grasses and less hospitable for weeds. What would ordinarily take nature decades to accomplish, we can do in a season or two with compost.

The ECO would like to see the provincial government supporting the optimal use of compost by helping those who make it and use it to understand how important the biology can be for the compost’s effectiveness. A piece in this year’s Annual Report, entitled “Compost: Understanding Nature’s Sense of Humus,” provides considerable background information on compost’s nature and benefits, as well as some inspiring examples of how well compost works when used within the scientific framework provided by soil ecology.

Watch for the third blog in this series, where the ECO will provide a few practical tips for home owners on how to use compost to effectively control weeds.

The Ministry of Natural Resources has just released a proposed Ontario Invasive Species Strategic Plan for public consultation. It’s a collaborative effort between many different levels of government and stakeholders, certainly long overdue, to systematically deal with this significant problem in Ontario.

Invasive species can cause massive ecological damage, on top of how they can seriously affect the bottom line of our many economic sectors. One only has look at the damage that a plant like kudzu has caused in the United States to realize that we need to take this issue very seriously. (Kudzu appeared in Ontario two years ago.)

An article in today’s Toronto Sun frames the proposed plan for its readers as the government wanting “special powers to go onto private property to deal with the problem.” It states that the plan’s proposal to discuss available options will be controversial.

It should be noted that Ontario has a long history of trying to eradicate invasive species, tracing back to a law passed in 1866 attempting to stop the spread of thistles brought over from Europe. Since then, we have seen new waves of invasive species enter Ontario at different points in time, such as a wave of invasive species coming from ballast water discharges into the Great Lakes after the fall of the former Soviet Union, followed by another wave with increased imports from Asia.
The Ontario government already has the power to enter private property for purpose of eradicating some invasive species. The Weed Control Act dates back to 1884. It enjoys long-standing support from rural communities and the agricultural sector.

This law allows a weed inspector to “enter upon any land and buildings, except a dwelling house” for the purpose of searching for noxious weeds or weed seeds. The inspector also has the power to order that noxious weeds be destroyed by the landowner and, if they aren’t, inspectors can do it themselves and have it billed on the person’s municipal taxes.

Having an open and honest discussion about environmental issues and how our provincial government deals with them is so important. It also is the crux of my role as Environmental Commissioner. Framing issues about the spectre of government as some sort of bogeyman does an injustice to the conversation we all need to have.

Our planet’s wildlife and wilderness are being lost at an unprecedented rate, with the loss of species on par with a mass extinction event. Because of this crisis, the United Nations has declared 2011-2020 to be the international Decade of Biodiversity to serve as a basis for immediate action. Biodiversity loss directly affects our province of Ontario.

The Ontario Biodiversity Council, a group of 22 volunteers, is soliciting public feedback on their draft Ontario Biodiversity Strategy until June 1^st, 2011.

The ECO has reported on the need to conserve biodiversity in seven of our reports tabled before the Ontario legislature, which are summarized here.

The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) is asking for public comment on its proposed Ontario Invasive Species Strategic Plan until June 20^th, 2011.  Invasive species are a key threat to our province’s biodiversity, especially many species at risk.  This proposed plan aims to:

• prevent new invasions;
• detect new invaders quickly ;
• rapidly respond to new invaders;
• effectively manage established and spreading invaders through containment, eradication and control.

Invasive species can cause enormous ecological impacts, but their financial impacts can be quite startling as well.  For example, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation has reported that economic losses and the costs of environmental impacts caused by invasive species exceed $100 billion annually in the United States alone.

The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario (ECO) first called on MNR to develop a plan to deal with invasive species almost eight years ago in our 2002/2003 Annual Report, as part of the larger push to have the Ontario government recognize its duty to conserve biodiversity.

In our 2003/2004 Annual Report, the ECO flagged the following barriers to adequately managing the threat of invasive species in Ontario:

• prevention measures have gaps and are often not enforced;
• government resources to detect, contain and eradicate these species are limited;
• government funding of initiatives is very limited, considering the potential losses.
• information about invasive alien species – their behaviour, preferred food and habitat, and control and eradication – is often lacking or non-existent;
• containment and eradication measures are often controversial, particularly the use of biocontrols (such as another alien species) and of chemicals;
• knowledge of our native ecosystems – species composition and interactions – is often dated or lacking; and,
• property owners and local residents may be unaware of how their behaviour can undermine containment measures and may resent drastic measures, such as eradication of all trees within an area.