In 2019, Northumberland County committed to reducing GHG emissions by 30% by the year 2030 and 80% by the year 2050, compared to 2005 levels. In an announcement on September 9 2024, they released a plan (together with a presentation) and asked residents to participate in an on-line survey which asks for feedback on the plan. See Resources below for links to the presentation, plan and survey. The goals of the plan are ambitious and specific although it’s not clear how emission reduction would be measured. The plan increases the 2019 goals to “a 65% reduction in GHG emissions by the year 2030 compared to 2005 levels, and achieving net-zero emissions by the year 2050”. That’s ambitious.
Although I’m not an expert in this, it seems that the biggest impact will be in stopping methane emissions from the Brighton Landfill – it’s responsible for 82% of the total.
The plan at this stage is a draft and the County says that “The feedback collected will help shape the final GHG Emissions Reduction Plan, which will be presented to County Council later this year.” If you do the survey, you’ll see that unlike many surveys which are long and have many multi-choice questions, this one is short and asks for written comments on what you think about the plan.
So it’s important to first read the plan – or better, read the presentation which provides summary points.
But here is a summary of the summary!
- The County has already taken some actions (they did start in 2019!)
- In 2024 they hired Environmental Officer Korey McKay – she is the author of the plan and the point person on making it happen.
- Waste Diversion programs have been implemented
- Developing and implementing a telecommute program for employees.
- Purchasing hybrid vehicles for the fleet
- Constructing new corporate buildings to energy efficient standards (e.g., LEED certification.)
- Completing LED lighting upgrades for streetlights and corporate buildings.
- Completing energy efficiency upgrades for buildings (e.g. heat pump installation.)
- The first stage of the plan addresses climate change mitigation, which involves reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing carbon sequestration.
- The second stage of the plan addresses climate change adaptation, which involves coping with the impacts that have already occurred and will occur because of climate change.
- In 2023, total Northumberland County corporate emissions were 27,355 tCO2e. These emissions resulted from our landfill (82%), our fleet and employee commuting (13%) and our buildings and facilities (5%). I looked up what “tCO2e” means – it stands for tonnes of CO2 equivalent. For example methane is “80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide over a 20-year timeframe.”
- Selected proposed Actions
- Increase waste diversion.
- Capture methane from the Brighton Landfill
- Establish a Green Fleet
- Construct new buildings and major renovations to net-zero or near net-zero carbon emissions where feasible.
- Retrofit existing County buildings and facilities for increased energy efficiency.
- Advocate and influence: Provincial and Federal Governments; Other municipalities; educate community.
- Monitor plan progress through the Public Dashboard Tool and annual progress reports to senior leadership and County Council
In commenting on the plan, Warden Brian Ostrander:
Emphasized the urgent need for local action in the face of a global challenge. “Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time, and it demands immediate and sustained action at every level. Municipalities play a crucial role, as they influence approximately 50 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. Northumberland County is committed to leading by example, reducing our emissions, and preparing our community for the impacts of climate change.”
No budget impact was provided.
Resources
- Link to County Survey – https://joinin.northumberland.ca/climate-action-planning – Includes Presentation and Plan
- Plan: Corporate Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Plan (1.29 MB) (pdf)
- Presentation: Corporate Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Plan (253 KB) (pdf)
- Public Dashboard Tool
- County Strategic Plan for 2023 – 2027 – See Pillar 4 – Propel Sustainable Growth
Print Article:
Here is another reason to wonder if the County has escaped an asylum
https://todaysnorthumberland.ca/2024/09/13/video-exclusive-cobourg-mayor-says-county-has-abandoned-encampment-residents-and-community/
Who is asking for this Great Green Plan? Which County Councilor ran on the Climate Crisis platform? I don’t think there is anyone residing in Northumberland County that wouldn’t support doing a better job of taking care of the planet but the problem is, that isn’t the agenda that is being pushed. Climate Action at any and all costs is what is being proposed. Why is it necessary to more than double the 2030 GHG objective that was established in 2019? Who asked for this?
What is the quantifiable impact to planet earth, if Northumberland County achieves this goal? What exactly are the associated costs with this plan and what is the projected financial impact to taxpayers in each year and for each initiative listed? Given we are a rural County, what impact do the trees have on our CO2 emissions in Northumberland County and in achieving net zero? How is that calculated and quantified?
Introducing this ideological climate plan at a time when cost of living is skyrocketing, foodbank visits are historically high, the economy is faltering, Municipal spending is completely out of control not to mention the vitriol related to the County’s 310D debacle and the mishandling of all the encampments, represents a significant inability to read a room.
I appreciate that the Environment Director once worked for the Provincial Liberal party, but this is a Conservation Province in a soon to be Conservative Country, may be best to adopt the Common Sense agenda. You are out of sync with the majority of taxpayers.
it is amazing the number of dinosaurs that post on this blog
The more we reduce the greenhouse gas the better it is for us
Ever have an older car drive by you walking and notice how bad it smells
Who remembers all the smog days we use to have around here, it was great thing when they stopped burning coal
Fifty-three to zero: this is the number of smog days in Ontario in 2005 compared with the number in 2014. Ontario had the better part of two full months of smog days in 2005, and none in 2014 !
So the more the County can do to remove greenhouse gases , the better it is for all of us
Capturing methane from a dump is old tech that should have been done years ago. Waterloo’s landfill even makes money from it. I expect we agree that is low hanging fruit. Same with waste reduction.
Wind, solar, and EVs are not net zero if an all inclusive agnostic accounting is done. An air heat pump is only as green as the energy source. Eliminating agricultural fertilizer would cut food production by half.
Climate models are fiction (of course), crop yields have gone up, and the relation between CO2 and insolation capture is proving non-linear in a good way.
What many readers of this site object to is empire building and exploitation using Climate Emergency as a license. The seduction of ideology is the ease of belief versus the effort to think.
Too many people are not aware that you need fossil fuels to manufacture solar panels, wind turbines, EV batteries etc…what is charging your electric vehicle? Everyone keep virtue signaling while I go burn my garbage….
I guess I identify as a dinosaur. Smart people find solutions, not politicians. Acid rain, emissions, plastics, landfills.
Drive the 401. Does anyone believe the thousands of vehicles will be EVs in 10 years? T-rex doesn’t.
I bet you probably would have the said the same thing the first cars
where sold,
why do we need gas cars when we all use horses 🤣
Mark, why do you mention smog days? Your numbers show that the problem of smog days was solved a decade ago.
Because a lot people disagree with the government decision to eliminate coal burning plants back than , which was a correct decision
I wonder why the Ford government paid millions when they came to power to eliminate wind farms on Prince Edward County to only say now we need more power generation, I guess his corporate buddies got a pay off and now get to build their wind farms now
Bruce, I hope that Ford will be smart enough to avoid wasting money on windmills. Any source of power that cannot be depended upon is useless to provide the needs of our modern civilization. Consider that Ontario has about 5000MW of windmills installed. As I write, Ontario is only able to get 830MW from wind and nothing from solar (see https://ieso.ca/ for current data). Wind is an expensive distraction from meeting our needs cost effectively!
Wind & solar are sacred: We think of blissfully sailing on a clear sunny day free of coal smog.
McGuinty politically died on his windmill jihad because he ignored engineers. Hydro accumulated huge debt that won’t ever go away.
Wind or solar without equivalent storage is fraud because gas power plants have to be built to compensate for lack of light or wind. Even now, commensurate battery backup at that scale is good for a few minutes. When we have too much green power we are lucky to sell it at a loss.
Surprisingly, the problem of recycling wind turbine blades has not yet been solved and remains an ugly secret. Solar panels have a recycling problem as well.
93% of solar panels from from coal powered China, while they really should be made in Northumberland County…think of all those jobs. Cheap power drives industry, while expensive power drives it away.
Rooftop solar, coupled with onsite power storage (no grid tie inverters to create Hydro energy management whiplash) seem viable to me if not done over short-lived asphalt shingles. The real estate is free.
If you are an atheist you won’t believe in “Mother Nature ‘, but over time, centuries, climates have changed, it wasn’t until 2000 that we started to get warmer, soon the climate will start changing again.
Cut the Carbon Taxes to make life more affordable.
… actually the last “Little Ice Age” ended mid 1700 and since then we are recovering from the cold. Someday we may even be able to do farming in Greenland again – as the Vikings did around 1000 CE (or AD)….
“The 80-20 rule, also known as the Pareto Principle – a goal of the 80-20 rule is to identify inputs that are potentially the most productive and make them the priority”
If we were to apply this business principle to the problem at hand – we would prioritize the 82% of methane from the dump. Capture technology exists and even proven cost effective in producing electric energy. Unfortunately not as “sexy” as spending mega bucks on e-cars, new buildings etc….
John, I really appreciate your coverage of big picture, long range and smaller picture short range topics. I feel much better informed about the present and future in Cobourg and Northumberland County after reading your blog. Thank you.
Why don’t we just figure out to handle and stop Forest Fires
through out Canada We have caused / created / and contributed an Irreversible amount of Pollution to the rest of the world over the last few years
that we can never repair in our life times
And Northumberlands forests are looking mighty unkept may be a more profitable harvest for $$$ and replanting program supported by the Feds would be a bigger contribution than replacing a few vehicles for the upper echelon at triple the price Electrics or are they going to run the new vehicles off the Gas captured at the DUMPs ??
Just another job creating and dream at the Tax Payers expense .
Laughable Policy.
How are you going to control Cobourg’s climate? Do we live in a dome, like the Simpson’s episode? Our air is shared with everyone else in the world.
If you lower C02, you will starve the plants, then we have a real problem. Remember photosynthesis? We actually need MORE C02.
How are they going to achieve this? They will have to also cull all the cattle, humans, and all other mammals that expel C02 to achieve this.
Use your thinking brains folks. We are getting conned by politicians and special interest groups,… again! Climate Change is about getting rid of YOU, not the C02.
Covid, which we would like to forget, made me see what the Climate Emergency really is. Two weeks to flatten the curve ushered in all the extrovert and introvert control freaks plus CERB and pharma opportunists who could not let a good disaster go to waste. ‘The Great Reset’ (2020) by Klaus Schwab and Thierry Malleret is scary wishful thinking and worth reading.
The Climate Emergency ™ marketing phrase was pushed hard by CNN in 2021 and onwards. Suspiciously there are only negatives and never positives – 100% of scientists receiving a paycheck or grant from a higher authority agree. County government knows the drill: never let a good manufactured disaster go to waste. Follow the money.
I worked in the “environmental activist” sector in the late 90s, it is all a load of hogwash and a massive money laundering operation ( IMO most NGOs are) from what I saw. “Follow the science”, the earth goes through cycles. As we saw with “covid”, people love to be virtuous and will destroy each other to rise to the top of the “virtue ladder”.
Thank you Nikki, you have the wisdom of age and experience 🙂
What you mentioned about Covid is what people want to forget most of all.
I think Methanol from nuclear driven hydrogen production and direct carbon capture will sideline battery cars to niche applications, and allow air travel to continue. Only scientists and engineers can save the planet, not grifters.
Google is best for goods and services and also for biased searches, so I say to everyone don’t count on them as your unassailable Fact Check.
People jokingly equate the WEF with eating bugs and 15 minute cities, but the conceit on each page of the Schawb/Malleret book is that government knows best, towards their central thesis of a world governing body. As local government has shown us, government does not know best.
Nicely said Andre!
For the record, I’m not eating bugs, living in a pod or driving an over priced electric vehicle that used slave labour to make its battery.
If people really want to do something to help the earth, look at your every day habits. Where is your food coming from? Where are your clothes coming from? What are they made from? Stop shopping for every gadget out there to make your life more convenient, that just breaks b/c you bought a crummy quality product ….I could go on and on. We can’t change the world but we can change who we are on an individual level. We all have a higher self, lets go find them. From there, amazing things will happen.
Mustn’t overlook the W.H.O to be included as a major player in the organization of “experts”.
So we need new county offices, a plan to work-from-home and expensive “green” vehicles? We’ve hired another bureaucrat (Climate Coordinator with a salary of $102,362 plus benefits in 2023) to prepare this useless “plan” that doesn’t even seriously consider the impacts of population growth in Northumberland. I notice that there is nothing on costs and nothing on benefits in their presentation…
Thoroughly agreed Ken – with such unrealistic costly ideas which put on the back burner practical needs of Northumberland it would be appropriate if the County played the theme from the Twighlight Zone before their meetings.
The benefits are implied, we have to save the planet. With about 80,000 people Northumberland represents 0.001% of the population of the world but we probably contribute a much higher percentage of global tCO2e. Sure there is no cost information but everybody should be willing to pay more to save the planet. It is the only one we got, until Mars is colonized. Brian Ostrander has the right idea, “Northumberland County is committed to leading by example, …” Lets demolish old inefficient buildings, like the Golden Plough, and build new efficient ones. Was there anything in the report about the tCO2e required to demolish and rebuild compared to just using existing buildings even though they are not as efficient? How many years before we will have a net benefit in reduced tCO2e? Making concrete requires lots of energy which releases CO2. Thanks to the information provided by John I now know methane is 80 times more powerful than CO2. Does that mean we could benefit by closing some burrito places? Maybe I could ask our Climate Coordinator.
Kevin, please take your message to China, India and the balance of their surrounding countries. The problem lies there not in Northumberland County.
Of course China and India, with close to 3 billion people between them, have tremendously more impact on the planet than Northumberland. If Northumberland stop producing all CO2 today nobody, except us, would even notice. My comment is mostly tongue in cheek which some people understood. Especially the part about colonizing Mars. If we are able to colonize mars shouldn’t we also be able to fix the problems here? Not everybody agrees there is a problem with GHG emissions warming the planet. If there is and it is caused by humans then humans should be able to fix it. I doubt federal and Northumberland targets will be met and if they are it will not have any measurable effect globally.
Lets all Hope that all the New County Buildings have already been designed that way over the last few years this is not a New Concept And I am sure with the time and massive Cost Over runs at the New Golden Plough it must be a Net or even a Minus Zero to the Tax Payers in Northumberland .
Lets not get ahead of ourselves here Kevin. Climate change has nothing to do with the rise in C02 you have been deceived into believing. Plants need C02 for photosynthesis, and C02 levels were much higher than now in past eras.
“Climate change” is about decreasing the population, and getting rid of humans, and other mammals such as cattle that expel C02, so that we all eat bugs, and support new revenue channels that corporations look for to increase profits and competitive advantage.
So unless you stop farting and breathing, you are also part of the “problem”. It is a cult and a con.
Thank you Concerned Cobourg Resident! I can’t for the life of me understand how people don’t understand plants need CO2. The carbon the government wants to reduce is us. So many cults out there, considering a career change to “cult deprogrammer”.
It’s refreshing to see others on here who understand the bigger picture such as yourself. Propaganda and mind control techniques have been used for a long time by governments on populations since the 50’s…
A good read here:
The Rape of the Mind: The Psychology of Thought Control, Menticide, and Brainwashing
https://a.co/d/3EwYB0p
They could all start by reducing the heat and air conditioning costs in all their buildings by 10 or 15 degrees and wear a sweater thats if they even show up to work , and just follow some of those new County vehicles around some time when you have nothing to do as they sure do nothing and are remotely working most of the time at Tims .