by the WOC Team

Welcome back, WOC readers! Here at WOC, we’re all prepped and ready for a brand new year of climate change and sustainability engagement.

While 2022 saw some milestone moments for climate policy, 2023 will be even more important as Canada steps up implementation of climate actions.

Last year was "the 17th hottest year in Canada" and Earth's "5th warmest" since 1850. Even without knowing the specific numbers, many have noted the unusually warm winter weather and lack of snow in the Windsor-Essex area. January, up until the last half, has felt like autumn—only a bit chilly, with rain instead of snow. Simultaneously, parts of Ontario experienced the coldest weather in 100 years. Quite simply put, in 2023 the work continues…

There has been environmental progress at the federal and international levels, like biodiversity conservation, climate actions, plastic waste, and toxic chemicals in 2022. At the provincial level, progress was mixed. There have been extreme anti-environmental policies and laws in Ontario, and many other provinces resisted progress.

So, to prepare ourselves for another year of hard work, the WoC team has assembled a list of 10 big things in the climate and environmental realm you can expect to affect you:

ten expectations for 2023

Adapt to Overcome

Canada is expected to have a widespread threat of severe weather around the June solstice as a surge of "very warm, humid, and unstable air" will trigger "showers, violent thunderstorms, and possibly even a twister or two." The federal government created a National Adaptation Strategy in 2022 which will be leading adaptation responses across various governmental organizations. Every part of Canada is now feeling the effects of climate change, especially in Ontario where Ontarians will have to resist the provincial government's attempt to regress to a time when the environment was seen as a public nuisance in the way of private profit. More generally, there’s an overall pressure at municipal levels and from various communities to move more quickly in terms of adaptation.

Every part of Canada is now feeling the effects of climate change, and every year, multiple climate-fueled disasters claim the lives of Canadians and drain billions from our economy.
*Source:* *Canada.ca*

2. Refuse Single-Use

The federal government will start to invest in reusable systems and services while expanding the ban on harmful single-use plastics from six non-recyclable, single-use plastic products to other unnecessary and harmful plastics.

Starting on December 20, 2022, with the prohibition on the import and manufacture of single-use plastic checkout bags, cutlery, foodservice ware made from problematic plastics, stir sticks, and straws; the prohibition on the sale of these items will come into force in December 2023.
*Source: Canada.ca*

3. Highway 413 to the Danger Zone

For the proposed Highway 413, the federal government will proceed with a complete environmental assessment, since the highway would force car-dependent sprawl on Caledon and Brampton. Also, it would devastate rivers, farmland, and forests, many of them on the Greenbelt.

4. Environmental Justice for All

Canada is looking to obtain its new environmental justice and toxic laws through Bill C-226, which has been passed in the House of Commons and moved to the Senate, to hopefully, be quickly passed this year. The “National Strategy Respecting Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice Act” has been proposed to address better toxics monitoring among specific communities that are disproportionately impacted (specifically, Indigenous and racialized communities), more protective mechanisms on clean-ups and exposures, and advance environmental justice.

5. More Homes, Built Faster

All this said, there are significant opposing forces in 2023 that hinder climate change mitigation, especially at the Provincial level, in terms of some recent largely anti-environmental laws and policies in Ontario. These policies include Bill 23 (the More Homes Built Faster Act), which creates new homes at the expense of making "changes to the Ontario Heritage Act that will remove thousands of listed properties on municipal heritage registers."

Ontario Nature further describes the negative impacts of Bill 23: it will concentrate power at the top, taking several land-use planning decisions away from municipal governments, regular citizens, and conservation authorities, as well as place wetlands and natural heritage under attack.

““More” and “faster” aren’t necessarily better. These appealing adjectives will come at the cost of “quality” and “safety,” and put additional strain on our environment.

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6. More Homes For Everyone

Similarly, Bill 109 (the More Homes for Everyone Act) takes power away from local authorities, as well as decreases public consultation and use of local expertise. An 8-minute summarized meeting from Hamilton 350 reveals additional concerns about public safety, highlighting that Bill 109 makes modifications to the building code without regard for environment or efficiency. Ontario will realize its error of paving over critical ecosystems and the Greenbelt due to the growth of new alliances of the group coordinating their efforts to halt the enactment of this destructive agenda.

7. Transitioning from a Crisis

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia will speed up a green transition due to the energy supply crisis in Europe, which could lead to faster decarbonization and investment in conservation, renewable electricity, green hydrogen, heat pumps, and electric vehicles.

8. Speak “Green” and Enter

In 2021, Canada was among 19 countries to announce new "green shipping corridors” (shared maritime trade routes intended to boost the industry towards zero-emission shipping), but no concrete plans had been outlined in terms of achieving the zero-emissions goal. This year, the Canadian government will develop reduction targets for marine shipping emissions, an industry in which significant heavy fuel oils are often burnt.

Windsor-Essex borders three significant bodies of water that offer important shipping routes in the Great Lakes area, and it will be interesting to see if these will receive a green shipping corridor designation.

9. Canada’s first Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP)

In March 2022, the new ERP set the agenda for future policy development. Significantly, just five policies are needed to get us most of the way to Canada’s 2030 emissions targets. In 2023, the focus will be on completing three of those:

The cap on emissions from the oil and gas sector:
Increasing carbon emissions from oil and gas production have nullified reduction from all other sectors. Between 2005 and 2019, emissions from oil and gas rose by almost 20 per cent, and without regulation, it is projected that O&G will overshoot their 2030 emissions goal. Because of this, the federal government in 2021 dedicated itself to developing a cap, forcing industries to reduce emissions to zero by 2050. In 2023 it is expected that the regulation will be finalized.

The new **interactive Pathways Tracker** provides projections for Canada’s O&G sector. Successfully implementing an emissions cap and tighter methane controls will be essential to making the deep and rapid emission reductions required to meet Canada’s 2030 target.
*Source: 440Megatonnes Canadian Climate Institute*

The Clean Electricity Regulation:

Net zero refers to the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) that's produced (like from the tailpipes of automobiles and smoke stacks) and the amount that's removed from the atmosphere ( like from tree planting or technologies that can capture carbon from the air).

By 2035, the Canadian government intends for Canada’s electricity generation to be Net Zero, though clean electricity production in Canada must increase greatly to meet ERP commitments. This framework for clean electricity has the potential to make the overall cost of energy more affordable and to underpin new economic opportunities for Canadians, at local levels. It is expected that the federal government will increase the affordability and availability of electric vehicles in the future due to advancements in battery technology as well.

While the federal clean electricity standard will push provinces to eliminate the creation of more polluting gas plants, this might clash with Ontario’s provincial government that wants to expand natural gas for electricity, and lock itself into higher electricity prices and carbon emissions.

Improvements to carbon pricing:

This past year saw strong traction for policy ideas to provide more significant certainty around carbon prices in the future. Without them, investors would be disinclined to make large multi-year commitments. If correctly implemented, innovative approaches (carbon contracts for differences) could be fully realized in 2023, which could open the investment floodgates and free the creativity of markets in moving Canada toward net zero.

10. Equity and a Just Transition

Indigenous governments continued to show leadership in the energy transition in 2022, with communities leading the switch to non-emitting electricity. Indigenous groups have also protected Canada's fresh water and their communities—an ongoing battle—standing up against the line 5 pipeline and toxic tailings. With the right support, Indigenous-led clean energy projects could see exponential growth in 2023 and on.

It is also important to remember that indigenous communities are severely impacted by climate change as their lifeways are deeply interconnected with natural ecosystems.

The Bottom Line:

Transitioning into a new year is often a time of gratitude, reflection, excitement, and planning. While new years inspire us to start over, persisting issues need to be addressed with renewed vigour and even increased attention.

Though some of these decisions seem to be out of reach and impossible to influence, it's important to remember that we, as citizens and regular people, can have a considerable impact on driving them forward by staying informed and taking action. We can make a difference.

In the spirit of 2023, Windsor of Change would like to sincerely thank you for your investment in our organization and your dedication to climate change education and engagement. We have some exciting plans ahead, and we're looking forward to spreading our message even further across the Windsor-Essex community!

Projecting the Future: Climate Progress to Expect in 2023

ten expectations for 2023