Ottawa is behind on its climate change targets; city auditor says it has to make accountability clear

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Ottawa has reached a “crossroads” when it comes to making decisions about its climate change direction, priorities and resources, says a city auditor general’s report presented to the audit committee Monday.

It’s well-known that the city is behind on its climate change targets and priorities, said the report. The city has committed to climate change outcomes. The problem is that accountabilities across the organization haven’t been formalized.

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Ottawa declared a climate emergency in April 2019. It also adopted a climate change master plan in January 2020 and amended it the following December, with greenhouse gas reduction targets for both the city as a corporation and the community. For example, the master plan calls for the city to reduce its emissions by 50 per cent by 2030, compared to 2012, and established a target of 68 per cent for the community by that same target date.

But without formalized accountabilities at all levels, the city has limited ability to hold departments responsible in achieving climate change targets and outcomes, said auditor general Nathalie Gougeon’s report, which probed whether the city has the appropriate plans, strategies and tools in place to reach its targets.

The report acknowledged that there’s meaningful work going on across the city. The city applied a “climate lens” in its capital budgets for the first time in 2023. The city has reported that it invested more than $52 million in 2023 and is expected to invest $278 million in 2024 in initiatives such as the zero-emission bus program.

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But the city also can’t capture some metrics in a meaningful way, noted the report. One example is a project that aims at having 27 per cent municipal building be net zero by the end of 2030. There’s no current tracking against this metric, the auditor found.

The report also considered the role of the city’s Tiger Team, which consists of senior city managers and the chief medical officer. The Tiger Team was created to champion and support the master plan.

But when the auditor reviewed documents and conducted interviews, she found that the Tiger Team has been mostly operating as an “information receiving body” and not as a decision-making body or one that provides strategic direction, such as reviewing and approving priorities. For example, the master plan capital fund spend plan was never circulated to the Tiger Team, said the report, which recommended that the city revisit the role and purpose of the Tiger Team. That’s to be done by the end of this year.

The report also noted that the climate change and resiliency team consists of 24 staff positions, but 15 of these positions are temporary. That means there’s a risk the city will lose corporate knowledge and in-house expertise.

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“Now that see what the challenges are, what are we going to do about it?” asked audit committee chair Cathy Curry on Monday.

Will MacDonald, the city’s recently appointed interim director of climate change and resiliency, told the committee that city staff would be coming back to establish the priorities.

“It will be up to city council to decide what it wants to pursue.”

About 95 per cent of emissions are produced by the community, and not the city as a corporation. There are some tools that only municipalities can use to discourage emissions, such as tax levies and building standards. One such measure is high-performance development standards for builders. But implementation of these standards has been deferred by the province, and increasing building standards increases the costs of new housing for home buyers.

Most buildings in Ottawa are private assets, not city assets, so the question becomes how to incentivize individuals to retrofit their homes or their businesses, said Neil Saravanamuttoo, a director of CitySHAPES.

One of the initiatives he would like to see is for the city to make it possible for entire streets or neighbourhoods to retrofit to become more energy efficient through the services of a trusted partner provided by the city. Another example is to help residents transition to electric vehicles by providing charging stations for those who park on the street.

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A  rethink of the role of the city in climate action must also capture the opportunities, said Saravanamuttoo.

“I hope that city hall sees itself as as a leader that takes the region forward in climate action,” he said. “There are a number of actions that members of the community cannot take until city hall takes action first.”

The report will be before city council on June 25.

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