We recently blogged about Ontario's Climate Change Discussion Paper 2015. The paper reveals the province's current thinking on climate change policy options and seeks public input on the following specific questions:
- How can Ontario better support scientific research to advance future technologies that can help fight climate change?
- In what ways could sectors such as industry, transportation, electricity, agriculture, waste and forestry foster economic growth while reducing carbon emissions?
- What could be done to transition more buildings and communities to low-carbon technologies?
- What market mechanism(s) could be most effectively used to price carbon?
- How can we best leverage the traditional knowledge of First Nations and Métis communities in developing and implementing the climate change strategy and action plan?
In-person stakeholder consultations open to the public have been scheduled throughout the province until March 19 (upcoming dates include Ottawa on March 11, and Hamilton on March 16), but the province has also set up an on-line "consultation space" where you can share ideas, send a private message to the province, or browse and vote on ideas proposed by others.
The "ideas" posted on the public Consultation Space can be shared on Facebook or Twitter, and you can vote with a "thumbs-up" or "thumbs-down" for any of the ideas posted. The province is also highlighting the "most popular proposals" based on the highest proportion of positive votes, and all proposals can be browsed, voted on, commented upon, or shared via social media. Current proposals in the Top 10 include anti-sprawl legislation, carbon pricing, green buildings and building code amendments.
Kudos to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change for using the internet, crowd sourcing, and social media for purposes of engaging the public on this very important public policy issue.
The current in-person consultation schedule can be viewed here.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.