PCM signed a joint letter with over 30 signatories, to Mayor Tory and City Councillors, calling for the adoption and full implementation of The Pathway to a Low Carbon Future.
May 19, 2017
Dear Mayor Tory and Toronto City Councillors,
Toronto shares an ambitious yet achievable climate goal with cities like London and Washington, D.C. – reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. With TransformTO, we now have a clear plan that will get us to our target and that shows climate action will bring us all much needed hope and prosperity.
We, the undersigned, urge you to adopt and fully implement TransformTO Report #2 – The Pathway to a Low Carbon Future when it is discussed at City Council on May 24th, 2017.
Create Multiple Benefits
We are excited about this climate action plan because the envisioned low-carbon actions have the potential to generate multiple benefits for all Torontonians:
- Make life more affordable
- Create jobs and much-needed local economic activity
- Improve public health
- Reduce poverty
- Keep Toronto competitive as a global city
Send a Signal to Provincial and Federal Government
The adoption of the TransformTO plan would send a clear signal to the Ontario and federal governments that Toronto is ready to receive and invest climate action funds in ways that will reap maximum benefits. And with this decision, Toronto would join leading international cities like Paris and New York who recognize the vital role municipalities play in taking climate action.
It also acknowledges that we must take action now to ensure that we are leaving a modern, prosperous and healthy city for our children and grandchildren.
Mobilize New Resources through Collaboration
Transform TO Report #2 makes it clear that we must get serious about climate action and that doing so will contribute to current and future prosperity. The strategy takes a collaborative approach that ensures every climate dollar spent by the City leverages external resources and addresses environmental, social and economic priorities. This is exactly what Toronto needs.
TransformTO also creates a sound platform for accelerating the City’s emerging resilience plan. The Insurance Bureau of Canada recently urged all levels of governments “to come together and implement expansive climate policies that will better prepare Canadians and their communities for when disasters strike.” TransformTO would help do just that.
Finally, we welcome TransformTO as a plan that creates participation by businesses, residents, community organizations and civic leaders – like those of us who have signed this letter – in shaping and delivering this important work.
We are ready. We are full of hope. Let’s start creating a stronger Toronto by having Council adopt and implement TransformTO Plan#2.
Sincerely,
Signed by:
Doris Grinspun, CEO, Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario
Bala Gnanam, Director, Sustainable Buildings, Operations and Strategic Partnerships, Building Owners and Managers Association of Greater Toronto Area
Sevaun Palvetzian, CEO, CivicAction
Kofi Hope, Executive Director, CEE Centre for Young Black Professionals
John Cartwright, President, Toronto & York Region Labour Council
Jack Gibbons, Chair, Ontario Clean Air Alliance
Paul Antze, Steering Committee Member, Green Neighbours 21
Rob Shirkey, Executive Director, Our Horizon
David Crombie
Sandy Houston, President & CEO, Metcalf Foundation
Colette Murphy, Executive Director, The Atkinson Foundation
Cherise Burda, Executive Director, City Building Institute Ryerson University
Ken Neumann, National Director for Canada United Steelworkers
Jerry Dias, National President, UNIFOR
Fred Hahn, President, Canadian Union of Public Employees, Ontario
Scott Travers, President Society of Energy Professionals, IFPTE Local 167
Carolyn Egan, Co-Chair, Good Jobs for All Coalition
Sean Meagher, Executive Director, Social Planning Toronto
Lucy Cummings, Executive Director, Faith in the Common Good
Rosemary Powell, Executive Director, Toronto Community Benefits Network
Tara Seucharan, Co-contact, Council of Canadians, Toronto chapter
Marion Fraser, President, Fraser & Company
Cara Clairman, President & CEO, Plug’n Drive
Geoff Cape, CEO, Evergreen Brick Works
Tim Gray, Executive Director, Environmental Defence Canada
Theresa McClenaghan, Executive Director, Canadian Environmental Law Association
Gideon Forman, Climate Change and Transportation Policy Analyst, David Suzuki Foundation
Jack Gibbons, Chair, Ontario Clean Air Alliance
Angela Bischoff, Director, Greenspiration
Sheila Murray, Cofounder, Community Resilience to Extreme Weather (CREW)
Lyn Adamson, Chair, ClimateFast
Marjorie Brans, Managing Director, School for Social Entrepreneurs and League of Intrapreneurs
Professor Kimberly Strong, Director of the School of the Environment, University of Toronto
Liz Rice, Toronto Chapter Co-Chair, Citizens’ Climate Lobby
Gabriella Kalapos, Executive Director, Clean Air Partnership
Emmay Mah, Coordinator, People’s Climate Movement
Keith Brooks, Clean Economy Alliance
Franz Hartmann, Executive Director, Toronto Environmnetal Alliance
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