QUEEN’S PARK — MPP for Guelph Mike Schreiner released the following statement in response to the publication of the final report of Ontario’s Electrification and Energy Transition Panel.
“Faced with a growing risk of energy shortfalls in the near future, it’s clear that Ontario needs a bold plan to embrace prosperity in the clean energy economy.
I echo the calls of the Electrification and Energy Transition Panel to develop a practical, achievable roadmap to a clean energy economy – but we need a more ambitious target than 2050.
And we cannot continue to funnel money into the expansion of polluting fossil gas plants that have been shown to cost more and run far more often than the government claims.
While other provinces and countries move full-speed ahead toward net zero, this government is greenlighting new fossil gas plants while dragging their feet on real renewables procurement.
Every single day that we fail to act, Ontario falls further behind the rest of the world.
I know that our province is ready to be a leader in the $1.7 trillion new climate economy, which saw global investment outpace fossil fuels by 65 percent last year.
I reaffirm my call to phase out fossil gas by 2030 and double our electricity supply by 2040 with emissions-free sources.
I will keep pushing for rapid investment low-cost renewables that help Ontarians save money while setting our economy up for future success.”