Download a printable version of this petition here.
TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO:
WHEREAS our planet is undergoing significant warming with adverse consequences for health, for agriculture, for infrastructure and for our children’s future;
WHEREAS the costs of inaction are severe, such as extreme weather events causing flooding and drought;
WHEREAS in 2023 Canadians experienced the most severe wildfire season on record, 2023 was the hottest year on record, and 2024 is anticipated to be even hotter;
WHEREAS successive governments over the last two decades have expanded gas plants despite public pushback;
WHEREAS reports, such as those from RBC Climate Action Institute, Dunsky Energy and Climate Advisors, and Sustainability Solutions Group agree that the government must immediately reduce our reliance on fossil fuels;
WHEREAS the conclusion of the Ontario Energy Board regarding Enbridge’s plan for a multibillion-dollar methane gas grid expansion “is not responsive to the energy transition and increases the risk of stranded or underutilized assets”,
WHEREAS Ontario must reduce our province’s reliance on fossil fuels and instead invest in new renewable energy projects to ensure we meet our provincial climate targets;
THEREFORE WE THE UNDERSIGNED petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to pause the expansion of methane-fired electricity generation, and begin to wind down their use to just stand-by “peaker” plants; expand and accelerate the procurement of electricity from renewable sources, while lifting the moratorium on off-shore wind power, negotiating increased power transfers from Quebec and pursuing more conservation, demand management, and distributed energy networks; support the Ontario Energy Board’s recent decision recognizing the current energy transition, and its implications for new small volume customer methane gas connections.