The Guardian (Charlottetown)

Ottawa is behind on its climate change targets, city auditor says

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.

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.

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.

“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.”