The government of Ontario is spending over $1 million to improve ecosystem health in urban and rural communities across the province to help fight climate change.
Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry Kathryn McGarry made the announcement at Guelph Lake Park on Aug. 22.
“In Ontario we are very fortunate to have funds that are being raised in the cap and trade auctions that go into the greenhouse gas reduction account,” she said.
“This money is then being used to meet the commitments in the climate change action plan which that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help us move towards a low carbon economy.”
She announced that $380,000 of the funds raised from cap and trade auctions and put into the greenhouse gas reduction account funding would be going towards the 50 Million Tree program and $750,000 would be going towards the Land Use Carbon Inventory.
“Tree planting is an important tool in mitigating the effects of climate change,” McGarry said. “The 50 Million Tree program was launched in 2008 to expand forest cover in the province on private lands.
“The goal of the program was to get 50 million trees in the ground by the year 2025, an action that will sequester 6.6 million tonnes of carbon by year 2050.”
To date 4,000 landowners have participated and more than 22.5 million trees have been planted, facilitating the creation of 12,000 hectares of new forest.
Included in the 50 Million Tree program is the Green Leaf Challenge, championed by Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott.
“We created the challenge … to honour the province’s 150th anniversary and so we’ve asked people to match the trees planted under the 50 Million Tree program this year one to one,” McGarry said.
Rob Keen, CEO of Forests Ontario, said the province is well within the target to reach 50 million trees by 2025.
“This comes at a time when we need to be more vigilant than ever with our tree planting efforts,” Keen said.
“Surely we have seen the challenges increasing … last year we had significant drought and this year significant rain … so these are the kinds of things that are making it more and more difficult to get trees established on our landscape.
“But we have to maintain our vigilance in ensuring that we do get those trees planted on the landscape and ensure that we increase the amount of forest cover.”
He thanked McGarry and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change for their ongoing support.
The additional $750,000 from the greenhouse gas reduction account will go towards the implementation of the Ontario Land Use Carbon Inventory.
“This initiative will help to assess the potential of agriculture, forestry and other land uses to emit, remove and store carbon,” McGarry said.
“In the long term such an inventory and a greater awareness of land use carbon could help inform land use planning and resource management decisions from a climate change perspective and that’s something we all need to be part of.”
She continued, “Ontario continues to be committed to ensuring that every dollar in the greenhouse gas reduction account is invested in actions that reduce greenhouse gas pollution, creates jobs and helps people and businesses shift to a low carbon economy.”
