Angela Keller-Herzog, executive director of the environmental advocacy group CAFES Ottawa, says it’s important for residents to know if Ottawa’s climate change master plan is working and whether their investments are “paying off or falling behind.” Photo by Jean Levac /PostmediaArticle content
The City of Ottawa is four years behind in releasing greenhouse gas emissions reports and environment groups are left wondering just how much fossil fuels the city burns.
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Usually, the city releases public reports tracking the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced within Ottawa, but the last report was released for the 2020 emissions inventory findings.
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That 2020 report said community emissions had decreased 15 per cent since 2012, but a further reduction of five to six per cent would be needed to meet Ottawa’s climate targets in the next five to 10 years.
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Angela Keller-Herzog, executive director of the local environmental activist group CAFES Ottawa, says the city has a commitment to make those reports to the public.
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“It’s really important for countries and cities to be tracking their greenhouse gas emissions,” she said. “If we’re going to do something about the problem, we need to figure out where our emissions are coming from.
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“Unfortunately, in the last few years, the city has been somewhat neglectful.”
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Keller-Herzog says it’s important for residents to know if Ottawa’s climate change master plan is working and whether their investments are “paying off or falling behind.”
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CAFES Ottawa launched a petition calling on the city to release emissions inventory reports from 2021 to 2024, garnering more than 375 signatures as of Wednesday evening.
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Keller-Herzog says she and other members “basically just lost patience” after years of waiting for the city to release the emissions reports.
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“What gets measured gets managed,” she said. “If we have systematic measurement of this process of pollution, then that will allow us to figure out where to apply effort to try to reduce (those numbers).”
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If we’re going to do something about the problem, we need to figure out where our emissions are coming from. Unfortunately, in the last few years, the city has been somewhat neglectful.
Angela Keller-Herzog, executive director of the local environmental activist group CAFES Ottawa
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Keller-Herzog says she’s most concerned about Ottawa’s emissions going up, but she wouldn’t be spreading any “alarm” until she’s able to review the report. With the city considering an incinerator to handle residential waste, she argues this would only increase emissions and act as a “carbon bomb.”
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Coun. Shawn Menard, who is chair of the Environment and Climate Change committee, said he would like to see the updates of the emissions figures and has been asking city staff to provide them. Photo by Julie Oliver /PostmediaArticle content
The Climate Change Master Plan aims to “transition Ottawa into a clean, renewable and resilient city” and to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions completely by 2050. The last progress report was released in April 2023.