As the world grapples with climate change, it’s clear that our planet’s future depends on transforming infrastructure and transportation systems.
Wales, a small country with a big vision, is leading the way. By prioritizing sustainable transportation infrastructure and putting the planet’s health first, Wales is setting an example for others to follow.
In February 2023, in what may be a world-first effort to tackle the climate impact of cars, the government of Wales said that it would scrap all its major road building projects and place tight carbon-related restrictions on future proposals.
Wales’s Deputy Minister for Climate Change Lee Waters said, “Round and round we go, emitting more and more carbon as we do it” and “We will not get to Net Zero unless we stop doing the same thing over and over.” He then announced that of the 59 road schemes reviewed, 32 will be scrapped, including a third bridge over the river Menai and an 8-mile stretch of highway meant to ease pressure on the main route into North Wales. Only 17 are going ahead, and on these, the panel recommended alterations that should stop them fuelling more car demand. The rest of the projects will require further review.
Ontario has over $130 billion in transportation infrastructure projects. While these projects aim to improve connectivity and drive economic growth, they also pose a significant threat to Canada’s climate targets.
These projects could increase emissions, undermining Canada’s ability to meet its Paris Agreement commitments. In stark contrast, Wales’s approach prioritizes low-carbon transportation options, and they have cancelled or postponed high-carbon projects, demonstrating that sustainable decision-making is possible even in the face of pressing infrastructure needs.
Despite the alarming emissions implications, the Ontario government has failed to acknowledge the full size of the problem. By neglecting to calculate and disclose the Scope 3 (supply chain) emissions from the provinces many projects, they are turning a blind eye to the devastating impact on the environment these projects may have.
Scope 3 emissions can account for up to 70% of a project’s total emissions. By ignoring these emissions, the government is perpetuating a dangerous lack of transparency and accountability.
Wales’s approach prioritizes transparency and accountability, with rigorous emissions assessments and public disclosure. Canada must follow suit to ensure a sustainable future. Canada’s environmental assessment process has been criticized for prioritizing adaptation over mitigation. While adaptation measures help communities cope with climate change effects, mitigation efforts reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent climate change from worsening.
By focusing primarily on adaptation, Canada’s environmental assessment process has overlooked the critical need to reduce emissions from infrastructure projects. Wales’s approach integrates mitigation strategies into every stage of project planning.
The proposed twinning of the St. Catharines Garden City Skyway is just one example. It will unleash a torrent of CO2 emissions from concrete, steel, and construction vehicles. This project is a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of Canada’s approach. As Wales shows us, there’s a better way. Canada must shift priorities from building bigger highways to building a sustainable future.
The Ontario government must come clean with comments about how the expected Scope 3 emissions from its hundreds of projects are being estimated and considered as it works towards meeting its emissions reduction promises. All bidders for the St. Catharines Garden City Skyway project must be asked to estimate the unavoidable emissions their design and construction time-frames are likely to produce and submit this estimate alongside their price quotes. Only then can the Ontario government consider these added emissions and ensure its infrastructure projects are building a greener tomorrow.
To promise to reduce emissions without knowing what you are adding, at the same time, is a dangerous and irresponsible way to govern any country. It is time for our government to learn from the little country that could.
Robert Hicks lives in St. Catharines and is a SCAN! member.
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