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Canada’s richest city has one of the highest per capita concentrations of greenhouse gas emissions in the world. Many residents are asking: Why do we keep issuing the same kind of permits to use fossil fuels?
But the best argument for a change in policy, and for a company to use natural gas, hasn’t come from any private citizen.
Instead, it’s come from one of Toronto’s most respected public officials.
Brian Hogan of Toronto Public Health believes the city’s current approach to regulating carbon emissions has been too inflexible.
When asked in an interview with The Globe and Mail why the city’s COVID-19 policy permits power plants to spew unlimited CO2 emissions, Hogan said “because we see that the downside is that this business takes investment, and they’re a bit risk averse.”
“This is what I call an investor business, to include the power industry,” he added. “When you have an investor business, you take the longevity of your projects and what you’re planning on doing 10 years from now, not a year or even two years.”
“Incorporating the longevity of the project … into the policy will encourage the right kind of technology and products.”