In a new blog post for the Pembina Institute, Travis and Pembina’s Ontario Policy Director Cherise Burda take a closer look at the development charge and its potential to fund transit and improve urban planning in the City of Toronto. The development charge, as currently implemented in most Ontario municipalities, is crudely designed. There is a strong chance that it ... Read More »
Originally published in the Ontario Bar Association’s Environews Newsletter, Volume 22, No. 2 – December NRTEE Report, Emissions Trading Regimes and Recent Amendment to Local Improvement Charge Regulation Show Movement Towards a Low-Carbon Economy By Laura Zizzo* The low-carbon economic future is now. From market projections for low-carbon goods and services to pockets of global carbon pricing and even to ... Read More »
Toronto’s Parks and Environment Committee has recommended the city ramp up efforts to understand and prepare for the effects of climate change. This came after consideration of a study commissioned to better understand the conditions that public infrastructure would be operating in over the course of it’s service life, considering increased extreme weather and changing climate (Toronto’s Future Climate: Study ... Read More »
On January 28, 2013, Travis moderated a discussion between George Smitherman and Peter Tabuns on energy policy in Ontario. The panel discussion was hosted by the Climate Change Lawyers Network on Monday evening at WeirFoulds LLP. Saba Ahmad has a great article on her website. A big thanks to WeirFoulds LLP for the generous hosting. One excerpt from Saba’s article: The ... Read More »
Community leaders from Newtok, Alaska, and the Cartaret Islands, Papua New Guinea, met over the week of September 27th, 2012, to discuss the solution they have both chosen in the face of rising sea levels and harsher, more frequent storms: relocation. These communities are among the first in the world to choose relocation as a way to adapt to climate ... Read More »
Development charges can have an important impact on the way we build our communities, the amount of time people spend in cars and the environment. A recent article in the Hamilton Spectator by Emma Reilly looked at development charges in the City of Hamilton. Ms. Reilly interviewed Travis for the article following the release of the Live Where You Go report, written ... Read More »
Zizzo Allan Climate Law LLP, the Pembina Institute, the Canadian Environmental Law Association and Ecojustice are pleased to announce the release of a new report today entitled Live Where You Go: encouraging location-efficient development in Ontario, which is the result of year-long “Cool Communities” project run by the report’s co-authors. The report recommends 5 key tools (discussed below) to make ... Read More »
On June 9, 2012, Travis spoke at the Project Neutral neighbourhood summit at the Evergreen Brickworks. Travis gave an overview of carbon credit creation, focusing on how not for profit groups like Project Neutral can create revenue to support projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Project Neutral is an ambitious initiative that aims to create the first urban carbon neutral neighbourhood ... Read More »
By Meghan Babin, Zizzo Allan Climate Law Summer Intern According to a recent study published in the journal Nature, Earth may be on the brink of an ecological tipping point, due in large part to the destruction of natural ecosystems, climate change and population growth.[1] Released just weeks shy of the United Nations Rio+20 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, ... Read More »
Air quality and climate change are two very closely linked environmental problems. Many air pollutants that are toxic for human health are also greenhouse gases (GHGs) or GHG precursors. Additionally, the warming climate may increase chemical reaction rates, making smog in cities worse. The International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) Project working under the umbrella of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), ... Read More »