Civic Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., on Wednesday, May 17, 2017. (BRIAN KELLY/THE SAULT STAR/POSTMEDIA NETWORK)
The City of Sault Ste. Marie has taken a first step to move toward reducing its greenhouse gases.
It’s completed a project that will serve as baseline data as the city works to develop and implement a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The next phase of the project is to set greenhouse gas reduction targets and develop a community reduction plan. It’s hoped that will be completed this fall.
The first phase of the project includes both a community inventory, which measures aggregate emissions generated by key activities within the city limits and a corporate inventory which documents emissions from municipal operations the city controls.
Based on the 2017 inventory, the city produces more than 1.5 million tonnes of carbon monoxide equivalents, an amount that is expected to rise to more than 1.7 million by the year 2037 if no action is taken.
The data, presented to city council Monday, show that the industrial emissions are the highest sector of emissions in the city, based on their consumption of natural gas.
Sault Ste. Marie’s statistics show that 69 per cent of those emissions are industrial, similar to those produced in other cities with heavy manufacturing. Hamilton, Ont., generates 70 per cent of its emissions at industrial facilities.
Cities with smaller populations and a larger industrial sector produce higher per capital emissions, said Emily Cormier, the city’s climate change co-ordinator.
The second largest source of emissions is from on-road transportation, where Sault Ste. Marie produces 20.5 tonnes of greenhouse gases per capita, slightly more than the national per capita average of 19.5, said Cormier.
Preliminary recommendations would include exploring opportunities that reduce single-vehicle transportation and encourage transit or active transportation engagement, including cycling to work.
Cormier said that local data show that 90 per cent of the community drives to commute, five per cent walk, four per cent use transit and only one per cent bikes.
The city will also be encouraged to review potential actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that align with existing city plans such as the transportation master plan, the green fleet plan and the cycling master plan.
Education, awareness and support of electrification opportunities (charging stations, electric vehicles and buses), are also encouraged, she said.
The greenhouse gas emissions inventory falls to less than half when the industrial component is removed from the statistics, she said.
The community greenhouse gas emissions are 462,347 tonnes per carbon monoxide equivalents, based on 2017 statistics, she said.
Several larger-scale reduction projects are already in the works, including at Algoma Steel Inc., who expects to reduce its emissions by about 79,000 tonnes with three projects and PUC Distribution Inc., whose smart grid project is targeting a 2022 launch with an estimated potential savings of 2,804 tonnes annually.
A review of the city’s corporate emissions inventory falls in line with the community data.
In 2017, the city recorded 10,857 tonnes carbon monoxide emissions, with more than half that amount coming from vehicle flee and equipment and 34 per cent from the use of natural gas in municipal buildings.
“To continue decreasing emissions, the city must prioritize energy management and energy efficiency in existing assets and new builds,” the report to council states.
The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions improves public health, support competitiveness and innovation, reduce household, business and municipal energy costs.
