Push for Niagara municipalities to reduce carbon footprint

A local environmental group, 50by30Niagara, wants the Region and its 12 sub-municipalities to reduce carbon emissions 50 percent by the year 2030, on the way to eliminating emissions completely by 2050. The group maintains that municipal emissions come primarily from buildings, transportation, municipal waste, agriculture, and industry. Protecting and enhancing existing green infrastructure is a priority for the organization.

“50by30Niagara was formed last February,” said spokesman Herb Sawatzky. “We have a mailing list of about 670 people on Instagram. We don’t have regular meetings, but tend to be campaign-focused. Right now our members are taking a lead in dealing with the proposed gas ‘peaker’ plant for Thorold. Peaker plants are just the wrong way to go. They run only when there is high demand, known as peak demand, for electricity. Because they supply power only occasionally, the power supplied commands a much higher price per kilowatt hour than base load power. Estimates are that it would be needed about five to 10 percent of the time; however, it would equal the emissions of the plant running 100 percent of the time.”

The municipalities and the Region have done some good things, conceded Sawatzky.

“In 2019, the Region declared a climate emergency. Since then, they've worked with Brock University on Niagara Adapts, a program that enables communities to manage the impacts, risks, and opportunities posed by a changing climate. Seven of Niagara’s 12 sub-municipalities have signed on for a 10 percent reduction, and every municipality has to log all of their corporate emissions. A number have hired staff that are directly responsible for climate change adaptation.”

Sawatzky, who serves as pastor at Bethany Mennonite Church in Niagara-on-the-Lake, credits God, and his wife, for his role in the fight against carbon emissions here in Niagara.

“I grew up in Vancouver, and attended Okanagan Bible College in Kelowna, BC,” he said. “Then I went to seminary on the UBC campus in Vancouver, where I met my wife, Lorrie. We’ve been married 25 years. Lorrie is from Niagara, and was the driving force to return to Ontario. We’ve been here since 1999.”

Although his background and education are heavily focused on theology, Sawatzky said that he has always been a voracious reader, especially of history.

“God’s first instruction to people was to take care of the Earth, to enjoy and benefit from it,” he said. “As a part of my faith, I'm called to love God, love my neighbor, love my enemies, love those with whom I disagree. I find respect highly transformative. When I engage in a conversation with someone and have respect for them, it shapes how they interact with me.”

While not trained as an engineer, Sawatzky said that he finds the technology behind geothermal district heating systems fascinating.

“My dad installed furnaces his whole career,” he said. “He worked with sheet metal and pipe-threading. I think by the time I was 12 years old, I was going to work with my dad on furnace jobs around Vancouver. I think it's a bit of a shame that kids can't go to work with their parents on job sites anymore. If I ever needed to make some money, I’d ask dad to accompany him on some jobs. My three brothers are all still in the trade.”

What can individuals in society do to support the green cause?

“Homeowners should get a heat pump,” said Sawatzky. “That helps an awful lot. But it takes more than individual action. There are a number of large developments that are in the very beginning phases right now in Niagara, which will build homes for thousands of people. It would be far more expensive for building owners to retrofit 20 years down the road. They should act responsibly right now.”

Sawatzky referenced “district heating” as a “phenomenal energy solution, a way to combine a bunch of buildings together and have them share one heat source. It's been around for well over 100 years across North America, so it's a readily available source. It’s fossil fuel-free. We can do it with geothermal ground source. Wastewater treatment plants are a fantastic source for district heating, the energy efficiencies around that are about six to one for every one unit of energy that goes in, you get six units of energy out. There's nothing that competes with that.”

Many people have concerns about high employment as we transition away from jobs in the oil and gas industry, but Sawatzky insists that oil and gas industry jobs being lost out west are due to advances in automation, not because of the transition to mitigate climate change.

“A hundred years ago, 80 percent of all people were working on farms. Today, it’s only four percent. In the 1980s, and early 1990s, about 25 percent of all jobs were in manufacturing, which has dropped to around 12 percent currently. Yet we don't have high unemployment rates. Basically, other jobs become available. The economy evolves, with many of the new jobs offering good money. One thing that has to be highlighted is that we cannot make this transition without the working class, highly-skilled blue-collar tradespeople.”

Sawatzky said that it is “absolutely true” that Canada's emissions are only responsible for one and a half percent of the world’s carbon footprint, but said we have much to gain by reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.

“District energy plants will actually cost us less than natural gas systems. While a geothermal or air source heat pump costs more upfront, it's almost always amortized over the life of the equipment, and they pay for themselves in terms of energy savings in about 15 years.”

Nuclear power, which has seen a recent resurgence in a number of countries, is not a good option for future power, he said.

“Most environmentalists don't like [nuclear power] at all. They see the issue of dealing with the radioactive waste as highly problematic.”

The Ontario government’s new housing legislation, Bill 23, changed the rules and established practices for development in the province, in a move to address the current housing crisis. Ecology advocates were nervous.

“They initially had taken environmental protections out for municipalities, but then put them back in,” said Sawatzky. “Premier Doug Ford made it very clear that the municipalities have legal power to regulate environmental standards. It's a matter of political will. So our focus at 50by30Niagara is to get government and the public behind these standards.”

Sawatzky is adamant that we all will benefit by reducing emissions, and is a fan of mixed-use, high-density housing, which he said provides numerous benefits.

“We will have cleaner and more affordable communities,” he said. “Municipalities need to retrofit to ensure that they have no current buildings with fossil fuel energy, and they must construct new buildings using ground source heat technology and heat pumps. The other thing municipalities can do is design communities that are fully walkable, using active and accessible public transportation. People need to get used to driving their cars a whole lot less. The Region has made the smart move to a unified transit system that will definitely help.”

Further information on the group’s effort to reduce carbon emissions in the region, contact Sawatzky at www.50by30Niagara.org