Ontario released a new climate change strategy on Tuesday that seeks to enshrine the Canadian province’s planned cap-and-trade scheme in law and as its centrepiece policy.

Ontario also reiterated its GHG emission reduction targets of 15% below 1990 levels by 2020, 37% below by 2030, and 80% below by 2050.

Amongst the other steps the provincial government has proposed taking as part of its strategy are:

– Integrating climate change mitigation and adaptation considerations into government decision-making and infrastructure planning.

– Introducing changes to government operations, procurement, employee training, building retrofits and in other areas to help government move towards carbon neutrality.

– Developing a coordinated approach to reduce emissions from new and existing buildings.

– Reducing emissions from transportation by promoting the uptake of zero emission and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Ontario will release a detailed five-year action plan in 2016, which will include specific measures to meet its 2020 goal, of which it said it is already two-thirds of the way towards meeting.

The plan will also establish the framework necessary to meet targets for 2030 and 2050.

The government has also pledged to report on and renew its action plan every five years – a review timeframe potentially aligned with one being sought by most nations for a new global agreement to be agreed at the UN climate summit in Paris next month.

Ontario recently hit its target to cut GHG output by 6% below 1990 levels by 2014.

By Mike Szabo – mike@carbon-pulse.com