C40 CITIES

C40 Cities – what is our City doing (and why is it not in the news more)?

July 2, 2021

Toronto has been a member of the C40 Cities for 15 years, with former Mayor David Miller having been the 2nd Chair starting from 2008 to 2010.  When I dig into what this has meant and what City staff have been doing it seems that much is happening behind the scenes that would do well to be much more visible.

 Currently, the Transform TO initiative identifies a number of ways to meet the ambitious net-zero targets that have been targeted, including a ‘Buildings + Energy’ category of programs (rating systems, retrofit incentives, building audits, emissions and energy performance targets, back-up power and district energy systems).

The City’s initiative stresses that all new buildings will be ‘near’ carbon neutral by 2050, but struggles with how to address the larger issue embodied in our existing buildings (literally!).  Replacing existing buildings, even if this was financially viable, would have a much larger carbon footprint than could be saved in energy for a very long time.  The value of saving existing building fabric cannot be overlooked, but all of our buildings need to be upgraded if we want to ever reach carbon neutrality!

 There are a number of incentives that homeowners and building owners can take advantage of while retrofitting and reducing your building’s impact, including the Eco Roof Incentive Program and Energy Retrofit Loans for commercial/institutional buildings, and the City’s Home Energy Loan Program and Energy Efficiency Incentives for homeowners.  These programs are a good step to help private owners move in the right direction, but still puts the onus on individuals to take on the challenge and to navigate how to make impactful improvements.  The issues are extremely complex, even for well trained professionals, and the building industry is far from having the resources or know-how to provide solid advice.

 What we really need is a clear path for building owners of all types to turn to that will help them engage professional help needed, but as well will provide training and guidance in the construction industry and trades that is essential to completing the work.  While much is being done by individuals, professionals, grass roots organizations and even municipal initiatives there seems to be a huge gap that needs to come from the top down.  Here’s hoping we can push the Federal Government to combine the efforts of the C40 Cities with a country-wide comprehensive program!