On April 25th, NDP environment critic Megan Leslie tabled a motion to bring attention to the lack of comprehensive action to mitigate climate change federally and to underscore concern regarding the severe impacts that will occur unless there is swift and definitive action. The motion reflects the conclusion of scientists that a 2 degree rise in global average temperatures above ... Read More »
On March 21st, 2013 the federal government released its eighth budget. This budget includes investment in Canada’s crumbling infrastructure, but does not launch new measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or support a world-class clean tech sector. It overhauls the government’s development and trade departments, which could result in changes to Canada’s international climate change adaptation contributions. Lately the government’s ... Read More »
Originally published in the Ontario Bar Association’s Environews Newsletter, Volume 22, No. 2 – December NRTEE Report, Emissions Trading Regimes and Recent Amendment to Local Improvement Charge Regulation Show Movement Towards a Low-Carbon Economy By Laura Zizzo* The low-carbon economic future is now. From market projections for low-carbon goods and services to pockets of global carbon pricing and even to ... Read More »
Toronto’s Parks and Environment Committee has recommended the city ramp up efforts to understand and prepare for the effects of climate change. This came after consideration of a study commissioned to better understand the conditions that public infrastructure would be operating in over the course of it’s service life, considering increased extreme weather and changing climate (Toronto’s Future Climate: Study ... Read More »
In what many are seeing a harbinger of a more environmentally-focused term, U.S. President Barack Obama’s second inaugural address included an impassioned commitment to climate change that he filled eight sentences, longer then any other area of discussion: “We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond ... Read More »
On January 28, 2013, Travis moderated a discussion between George Smitherman and Peter Tabuns on energy policy in Ontario. The panel discussion was hosted by the Climate Change Lawyers Network on Monday evening at WeirFoulds LLP. Saba Ahmad has a great article on her website. A big thanks to WeirFoulds LLP for the generous hosting. One excerpt from Saba’s article: The ... Read More »
On December 4, 2012 the Environment Commissioner of Ontario (ECO) released his annual review of the government’s Climate Change Action Plan with a strong statement that the provincial government is scaling back on its agenda to reduce greenhouse gasses (GHGs). The ECO’s review is broad and recognizes that climate change action can (and should) be realized through a range of ... Read More »
The Ontario government released its Climate Change Progress Report, Climate Vision on November 13, 2012. The report gives an account of the Governnment’s past, current and future planned climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. It features some great success stories and signs of leadership from non-governmental bodies, including Project Neutral (Travis sits on the Board!). Some highlights we’ve teased out thus ... Read More »
The global market for low carbon goods and services (LCGS) could grow from $339 billion (2010) to between $3.9 and $8.3 trillion per year by 2050, according to a new report released by the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRT). Framing the Future: Embracing the Low-Carbon Economy – considers how Canada needs to position itself with ... Read More »
Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurance company, released a report yesterday finding that North America is experiencing the fastest increase in natural disasters in the world. The report, entitled Severe Weather in North America: Perils, Risks, and Insurance, is not yet publicly available, but in a USA Today article its author – Professor Peter Hoppe – explains that the number ... Read More »