Canada’s vast forests, grasslands, oceans, and wetlands provide essential ecosystem services that have already absorbed significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Yet these globally significant ecosystems could play a much bigger role in climate change mitigation with increased protection and wise stewardship. In the report, lead author Florence Daviet and her team present a road-map for both scientists and policymakers to use conservation strategies as a means to achieve climate and biodiversity goals.

Drawing from five years of research in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, the authors analyzed national demographic, geographic, and transportation data sets, evaluated cycling programs, conducted interviews with municipal staff and community organizations, and collected costing data for cycling programs and infrastructure across the city, in addition to researching how to measure the cross-cutting benefits of cycling. While pointing to the importance of good cycling infrastructure, the guide also makes recommendations covering programming and engagement, culture, policy, and addressing hills and inclement weather.

In this provocative new report from Clean Energy Canada, authors Sarah Petrevan and Joanna Kyriazis argue that the federal government should marry the $180 billion commitment to invest in infrastructure over the next 12 years with strategies to reduce our emissions.

In 2016, the federal government committed to eliminate the use of coal in Canadian power plants by 2030. This decision will likely prevent over a thousand premature deaths across Canada and result in billions of dollars in health benefits. As this report outlines, pollutants from our existing coal-burning power plants are drifting into neighbouring provinces and these pollutants are known to produce heart and lung diseases, aggravate asthma, and increase premature deaths and hospital admissions.

The Ontario provincial government’s decision to opt out of carbon pricing should not be an excuse for inaction as there are many ways to reduce carbon pollution. The report offers up a wide range of tried-and-true climate strategies including, natural gas conservation, supporting made-in-Ontario clean technology, building more public transit, introducing new programs to reduce pollution from freight vehicles, and creating stronger energy-efficient building standards.

While most Canadians don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the carbon footprint of freight we should and we must think about it, according to the authors of this report. After the oil and gas sector, transportation is the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada, accounting for 24 per cent of total emissions. Within it, freight – the movement of goods by road, rail, air, and marine – is the fastest growing segment. Since 1990 emissions from freight have increased 125 per cent. By 2030 these emissions are expected to surpass those of personal vehicles.