Green 13

💙📣Calling all Water Justice Seekers: SAVE THE DATE! 💙📣

On September 18 in Toronto, Water Watchers will join youth, elders, and community members as we march for Mercury Justice! Join us as we uphold water justice and Indigenous sovereignty alongside .narrows.solidarity.
RSVP at the link in bio to march with Grassy Narrows and support the demands:

👉Compensate everyone in Grassy Narrows fairly for the mercury crisis

👉Respect the Grassy Narrows Indigenous Protected Area (end mining and logging plans in Grassy Narrows territory)

👉Support Grassy Narrows in restoring their community and way of life from the damage that mercury has done.

This week, to mark the anniversary of the tragic 2021 Heat Dome, the 350 team is launching our new mini-documentary "Heat Pumps Save Lives" which features Dr. Melissa Lem (President of CAPE) and showcases the real life story of a co-operative housing community that mobilized to protect their members from extreme heat. RSVP to join us for the launch of this short film on Wednesday.

Climate change kills. How do we fight back? As we approach the third anniversary of the deadly 2021 Heat Dome, join the 350 Canada team and special guests for an important online action call.

Excited to announce that Green 13 and PHP4CA will be participating in the upcoming Movin' N' Groovin' Bloor West Village event on June 23rd! Join us at our table to learn about the incredible role insects, bugs, and caterpillars play in supporting our native species. Discover fascinating facts, engage in fun activities, and find out how you can make a difference in preserving biodiversity. See you there!

BREAKING: Yesterday, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments | Investissements RPC, or CPPIB) marked Earth Day by committing US$300 million to fracking expansion in Ohio.

While CPPIB announced nothing about the investment, Houston-based oil and gas company Encino Acquisition Partners LLC (Encino Energy, or EAP), which is 98% owned by CPPIB, announced CPPIB’s commitment to “EAP’s accelerated development of the Utica oil play.”

This investment makes a mockery of CPPIB’s net-zero emissions commitment. The International Energy Agency and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are clear that oil and gas expansion must cease immediately and production must be rapidly phased out in order to limit global heating to 1.5°C. According to the United Nations’ High-level Expert Group on the Net Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-state Entities, “Non‑state actors cannot claim to be net zero while continuing to build or invest in new fossil fuel supply... Net zero is entirely incompatible with continued investment in fossil fuels.”

With this investment in fracking expansion, CPPIB continues a troubling trend of gambling Canada’s national pension fund on fossil fuel expansion, creating an undue risk of loss for Canada Pension Plan members. CPPIB is making an alarming bet on the world failing to limit global heating to safe levels, putting the Canada Pension Plan at risk from an accelerating energy transition and Canadians’ retirement security at risk from catastrophic climate change.

“I think many Canadians would be shocked and disappointed if they learned our national pension fund is pouring our retirement savings into fracking– on Earth Day of all times,” said Patrick DeRochie, Senior Manager of Shift. “Encino's expansion of fracking— while it may seem to be a good short-term decision for an oil and gas company— is actually undermining the long-term stability of the Canada Pension Plan because it's making the climate crisis even worse.”

EAP is one of Ohio's largest oil and gas producers. It was recently granted licenses to frack under two protected state wildlife areas. EAP also successfully pressured Ohio’s Cambridge City School Board to approve a lease agreement that allows the company to explore for oil and gas on school property. Ohio’s recent fracking approvals appear to be influenced by an oil industry front group, Consumer Energy Alliance, that's under investigation by the state's Attorney General's office for fraudulently submitting letters in support of fracking on state public lands.

Read our statement for the full story. https://www.shiftaction.ca/news/2024/04/23/cppib-marks-earth-day-with-fracking-expansion

Learn about home retrofits that can help save money and energy in your home including installing heat pumps for heating and cooling.
Please RSVP by using the link below:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd_cecLIm3zPoJ9l6w9pH8hEqhyD81uFhmC-jky3Xxi_URogg/viewform

Learn more:
https://green13toronto.org/blog/heat-pumps-and-home-retrofits-how-save-money-and-energy-your-home

Links here will take you to our whole series of new how-to videos, and to our plant listings. Check out transitiontreemobile.org

Learn about home retrofits that can help save money and energy in your home including installing heat pumps for heating and cooling.
Please RSVP at: TINYURL.COM/2UUDW2HZ

Toronto East End Climate Collective (TEECC)
The Toronto East End Climate Collective (TEECC) is a non-partisan group of individuals working to understand the causes of the climate crisis and advocating for constructive responses. We host guest speakers, analyze public policy, participate in public forums and maintain a dialogue with local representatives on these issues.

Previous events in our series covered "Geothermal in Multi-Family Buildings" and "Thermal Energy Networks for Buildings". See our link to the TEECC YouTube Channel for recordings of both events: YouTube https://bit.ly/3TDPEb3

Here is a link to a short video from the International District Energy Association about district energy video https://bit.ly/3VfEMBA

District Energy "We're Built for This" Decarbonization Video Around the world, investments in district energy infrastructure are accelerating the shift to lower carbon solutions for cities, communities and campuses. ID...

Pathways to Sustainability for Buildings: Thermal Networks”
Thursday, March 28 7:30pm to 9:00pm ET Eventbrite link: bit.ly/3vbyBUo

We invite you to attend our event "Pathways to Sustainability for Buildings: Thermal Networks" on Thursday, March 28 at 7:30pm. This is the third in our series of discussions focusing on thermal energy.

Thermal energy networks, often called district energy, can be an efficient means of delivering climate-friendly heating and cooling. These networks use safe and stable renewable energy that can be derived from sources as diverse as geothermal, wastewater systems, bodies of water, and energy-intensive buildings.

Our guests are Peter Tabuns, MPP for Toronto-Danforth and opposition critic for Energy and Climate Action, and John Stephenson, co-founder of the Boltzmann Institute.

The discussion will explore the use of thermal energy networks as a pathway to sustainability for buildings. Topics will include:

District energy versus air source heat pumps
Demands on the electrical grid and their financial implications
Ideas to improve regulatory and financial frameworks

A Q&A follows the presentations.
Tell your friends!

Come clean on Pickering's rebuild costs Come clean on Pickering's rebuild costs. Or is this just another backroom bonanza for nuclear interests? Send your message here.

When it comes to the climate crisis, winning too slowly is the same as losing. It’s time for Canada’s pension funds to acknowledge this stark reality. Climate breakdown could make it impossible for Canadian pension funds to fulfill their mandates.

That’s the takeaway message from Shift: Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health’s 2023 Canadian Pension Climate Report Card.

This second edition finds that despite incremental progress, Canadian pension funds remain off track, especially compared to international peers. Far more work is needed to ensure Canadian pension managers fulfill their fiduciary duty to invest in plan members’ long-term interests and protect Canadians’ retirement security in a pathway aligned with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global heating to 1.5°C.

Four of the eleven Canadian pension funds in the report still do not have emissions reduction targets for 2030 or 2050. Developing and implementing credible, climate-aligned plans is urgently needed to protect both Canadian pensions and the wider financial system from the worsening climate crisis.

Shift’s benchmark measured incremental progress from most Canadian funds in 2023. The biggest improvements came from the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) and the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP), funds that were previously far behind but in 2023 finally released climate strategies. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), on the other hand, was the only fund manager with lower scores .

Full Report Card:
https://www.shiftaction.ca/reportcard2023

Більше 280 організацій громадянського суспільства закликають ЄС та G7 припинити фінансування мілітаризації Росії після 2 років агресії в Прес Реліз 21 лютого 2024 року

Women4ClimateTO celebrates International Women’s Day!

Join us for a special event to celebrate International Women's Day and announce the 2024 cohort of the Women4ClimateTO program. The event will take place Monday March 4 at City Hall, 100 Queen Street West, Members' Lounge from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm (doors open 6:15).

Keynote presentation by Claire Perttula, Food Justice Coordinator at the Malvern Family Resource Centre and Manager of the Malvern Urban Farm. Learn how Claire and her colleagues are enhancing climate resilience, inspiring inclusion and making a transformative impact in the Malvern Community through sustainable urban farming.

Following the keynote presentation, enjoy light refreshments and connect with others in Toronto's climate action community.

Feel free share this invitation with your team members, colleagues, or friends. Please register at the link below by March 1st.

Register now!

Women4ClimateTO International Women's Day Celebration Join us for an inspiring International Women's Day celebration and meet the members of the 2024 Women4ClimateTO Program!

Back in January, 2017, Green 13 hosted the inaugural “Ward 13/14 Roundtable on Community Preparedness for Extreme Weather Events”.
http://www.green13toronto.org/blog/ward-1314-roundtable-community-preparedness-extreme-weather-events

Among the presenters were map makers Jose A. La O and Santessa Henriques, from CREW (Community Resilience to Extreme Weather), who unveiled the very innovative, exciting mapping on which they had been working for months, a “Story Map”, or Neighbourhood Resiliency Map of Wards 13/14, now Ward 4.

View Ward 4 Neighbourhood Resiliency Maps here: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=178eea85c5db42729e8df18c7c8ccd48

You can learn more about Green 13’s past events pertaining to community preparedness for extreme weather events here:

http://www.green13toronto.org/community-preparedness-extreme-weather-events

Learn more about CREW here: https://crewresilience.ca

CREW Toronto Supporting Canadian communities as they organize to help themselves and each other during extreme weather

💚✨☕
Celebrate REUSABLE CUP DAY - THIS FRIDAY, MARCH 1ST

Beginning March 1, 2024, Toronto coffeeshops and restaurants will be required to accept customers’ reusable cups. Join us in celebrating this important step by bringing your own reusable cup to your favourite cafe or restaurant and by spreading the news!

Toronto’s new Single-Use and Takeaway Items By-law also requires businesses to
- “Ask-first/by-request” before giving out accessory food items, such as straws, napkins, stir sticks, utensils, beverage takeout trays and condiment packages.
- Accept reusable shopping bags and “ask-first/by-request” before giving out paper shopping bags.
- Only use paper bags compatible with the City’s diversion programs (i.e., no metal grommets or plastic handles).

Over 1.6 billion disposable cups flood Canada’s landfills every year. Disposable cups are made from paper (trees!) and then lined with plastic - they do not biodegrade.
If just one out of every 10 of us that buy takeout coffee switched to BYO, it would make a real difference – saving over 160 million single-use cups per year.

Be the one! 💚✨☕

https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/recycling-organics-garbage/long-term-waste-strategy/reducing-single-use-takeaway-items/?accordion=single-use-and-takeaway-items-reduction-strategy-stage-2&fbclid=IwAR0icpyRxbBNOye1Ohndsr6npxVJnFXFeAwCvEc-0-KU4z9QmfB34-kejT8

Green Neighbours Network of Toronto
Zero Waste Hub Toronto
Toronto Environmental Alliance
REmarket
Scarborough Zero Waste
City of Toronto
Roncesvalles Village
BYO - US Reduces

https://www.sustainabilitynetwork.ca/upcoming-workshops?fbclid=IwAR3n3fh43prgXUmM8uofXVLGNCvCKnTSFoNUx90Hy19ySq0gURj-rS5QwmA

Upcoming Workshops Find out more about Sustainability Network upcoming workshops.

The Latest Reports from Canada’s Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development
Date & TimeFeb 23, 2024 02:00 PM in
DescriptionSustainability Network welcomes back Canada’s Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD) to discuss reports tabled in Parliament on November 7, 2023. Commissioner Jerry V. DeMarco and Principals from the Office of the Auditor General of Canada will discuss the issues covered by these recent CESD reports: Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act—2030 Emissions Reduction Plan, The Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program—Natural Resources Canada, Monitoring Marine Fisheries Catch—Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Departmental Progress in Implementing Sustainable Development Strategies—Zero-Emission Vehicles.

One platform to connect | Zoom Modernize workflows with Zoom's trusted collaboration tools: including video meetings, team chat, VoIP phone, webinars, whiteboard, contact center, and events.

City of Toronto News

Home Energy Loan Program (HELP)
To learn more about the loans and incentives available through the City’s Home Energy Loan
Program (HELP), register in advance for their webinar of:

Wednesday, February 14, 2024 - 12 noon-1 pm

by clicking link below, and then scrolling down to the Webinars and Events tab, and registering for the webinar there.
https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/water-environment/environmental-grants-incentives/home-energy-loan-program-help/

Find out about other webinars and events offered through the “Ask an Expert Renovation Webinar Series” here, under the heading Webinars and Events.

City of Toronto News:

Home Energy Loan Program (HELP)
To learn more about the loans and incentives available through the City’s Home Energy Loan
Program (HELP), register in advance here for their webinar of:
Wednesday, February 14th 12 noon-1 pm
Find out about other webinars and events offered through the “Ask an Expert Renovation Webinar Series”

Case Studies - Deep Retrofit in the City of Toronto Planning a renovation in 2024? This webinar is for you!

The City of Toronto is studying Parkside Drive, between Keele Subway Station and the Martin Goodman Trail, to identify interventions in addition to those that were introduced in the last year, that could improve safety and mobility along the corridor with a focus on people walking, cycling and other vulnerable road users.

In consultation with the community, the study will explore possible design changes to Parkside Drive to better serve all road users and develop a future vision of the corridor. Full reconstruction of Parkside Drive is forecasted to take place more than ten years from now; the study will inform future work and will determine whether further improvements can be made in the interim period.

The Parkside Drive study is a companion to the High Park Movement Strategy, and any changes contemplated for Parkside Drive will be considered in parallel with the recommendations of the High Park Movement Strategy.

Parkside Drive Study Attend the public drop in event on February 1 and complete the survey by February 15. View materials in the Public Consultation tab below. Complete Survey The City of Toronto is studying Parkside Drive, between Keele Subway Station and the Martin Goodman Trail, to identify interventions in addition....

Canada Africa Partnership (CAP) Network Celebrity gardening expert and popular CBC gardening advisor, Paul Zammit, will teach and answer questions on how to grow your own food in whatever space you have — a traditional garden, a patio, or even a balcony!

Home Energy Loan Program (HELP)

To learn more about the loans and incentives available through the City’s Home Energy Loan Program (HELP) https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/water-environment/environmental-grants-incentives/home-energy-loan-program-help/

register here:

https://toronto.webex.com/webappng/sites/toronto/meeting/register/6aadd89739da429c86624a98af5cc623?ticket=4832534b0000000711c08d3b476c34ae4f455a360079ec469ba8e14c544082641bf667e6d2fd2230×tamp=1706392348749&RGID=r7860457a8e0a0dfeaa1c6e7020cfbac4

for the HELP Information webinar of:
Wednesday, February 14, 12 noon -12:45 pm

Home Energy Loan Program To learn more about the loans and incentives available through the Home Energy Loan Program (HELP), register for the HELP Information webinar on Wednesday, February 14, at 12 noon. Register now.   Applications for the Home Energy Loan Program are now open. Apply Now

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/24/eu-fossil-fuel-co2-emissions-hit-60-year-low?utm_term=65b206e11fcc062129f8dbeb85c2498d&utm_campaign=FirstEdition&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=firstedition_email

EU fossil fuel CO2 emissions hit 60-year low Fossil emissions ‘finally back to 1960s levels’, say analysts, but they warn levels are still falling too slowly

Portlands Energy Centre (Toronto's biggest source of air pollution) is working to expand it's fossil gas powered electrical generating capacity. This is TERRE's response to their draft Environmental Screening report required by Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. Follow this link ->
http://tinyurl.com/TERRESubmissionAturaDSR

NetZero Newsletter

An ACTION UPDATE from TERRE, a coalition of East End residents and local climate groups working together to oppose the expansion of the polluting Portlands Energy Centre (PEC) in our neighbourhood and to support a rapid, just transition to renewable energy in Toronto.
More gas burning in Toronto? Say NO thanks!

Atura Power, a subsidiary of Ontario Power Generation, plans to expand the polluting Portlands gas plant on Toronto’s eastern waterfront. This fossil gas plant is already the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in Toronto (contributing to climate change), and the largest emitter of nitrogen oxides in Toronto (harmful to health). Why would we expand it when we have so many lower cost, cleaner alternatives to burning more gas?

Atura is inviting input into their draft screening report by January 7, 2024. Join us in standing with Toronto City Council in saying YES to renewable energy, conservation and public accountability, and NO to:
the expansion of the generating capacity of the Portlands Energy Centre which burns harmful fossil gas
more respiratory illnesses faced by local residents from increased pollution
more harmful climate impacting gases

No to more gas burning in Toronto McMaster needs to drop its polluting gas plan and do more to address the climate crisis.

A homeowners guide to heat pumps:

Heat Pumps - A Homeowner’s Guide If you are interested in a heat pump for your home, this webinar is for you: how heat pumps work, types, manufacturers, costs, rebates and loans, whether you...