Toronto Mayor Rob Ford claims on his Facebook page that the Pembina Institute’s 2011 analysis of Toronto transit options support his case for a Sheppard Subway. Although we are pleased to see that the Mayor appreciates our work, some of his points require clarification. Read more...
Understanding Ontario's rising electricity prices
New Pembina Institute report finds scaling back plans to develop
renewable energy would offer little relief now on Ontario energy bills, and may lead to savings in the long run
Behind the switch: pricing Ontario electricity options uses an integrated energy system simulator to examine how scaling back Ontario's plans to develop renewable energy would affect electricity prices.
The report finds that Ontario consumers would see virtually no relief from high electricity prices if the province cancelled its support for renewable energy under the Green Energy Act.
In fact, the study indicates that investing in renewable energy today is likely to save Ontario ratepayers money within the next 15 years, as natural gas becomes more expensive and as the cost of renewable energy technology continues to decrease.
Learn more: Report | Media Release | Blog
Making Tracks to Torontonians
A new Pembina report finds that light rail transit will get more cars off the road, serve more people and reduce pollution the most
Making Tracks to Torontonians reveals that by focusing on light rail transit instead of subways Toronto can provide twice as much transit service per dollar invested; it can also bring rapid transit to the doorsteps of 290,000 people, almost five times more than a proposed subway plan.
Toronto must decide between funding a shorter new subway line or four priority LRT lines. The report reveals that LRT will get more cars off the road, reduce pollution more, and get up and running sooner than a proposed subway plan.
Learn more: Report | Summary | Blog
Bridging the Gulf
Changing the way Ontarians commute will cut oil demand, protect the environment and save money
Bridging the Gulf highlights the connection between the choices made by commuters in Ontario, and the negative impacts of oil extraction in North America in light of the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and ongoing ecological impacts from oilsands development. It focuses exclusively on personal transportation - how Ontarians get around every day - and presents five key actions to reduce oil demand based on policy changes that are already underway in the province.
The total amount of oil leaked by BP's Deepwater Horizon oil well could have fueled 20 per cent of Ontario's vehicles for the duration of the spill. Pembina's proposed five actions can save that same amount of oil and more. In 10 years, the recommended policy changes would keep $1 billion per year in the province - money that is currently spent on oil imports, but instead could be invested in jobs, transit or technology.
Learn more: Preliminary Report | Overview of Key Facts
Driving Down Carbon
Reducing GHG Emissions from the Personal Transportation Sector in Ontario
Making key improvements to personal transportation policies would result in greenhouse gas reductions equivalent to taking one million vehicles off the road and also reduce driving time for commuters.
Driving Down Carbon measures greenhouse gas emissions from the personal transportation sector — how Ontarians get to work, school and shopping every day — and examines the effectiveness of current government policies at reducing these emissions over time.
Learn more: Full Report | Fact Sheet
Canada's Coolest Cities
"What are Canada's large cities doing to encourage low-carbon choices for personal transportation?" A new report by the Pembina Institute, Canada's Coolest Cities, set out to answer this question through case studies of Canada's six largest urban areas: Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal and Vancouver.
The study found that the City of Ottawa's transit service has added 177 hybrid buses to its fleet, accounting for almost 20% of its full-size buses. Each hybrid bus is estimated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 38% compared to a conventional diesel bus. Challenges for the Ottawa-Gatineau region include a relatively low percentage of people living in neighbourhoods with at least medium density. For detailed findings, read the Ottawa Case Study.
Toronto already has the highest percentage of people taking transit in the country and has strategies to increase this number. The Toronto area also contains the highest concentration of high-rise buildings in 
Canada (the second-highest in North America). However, the report found that in 2006 Toronto commuters were travelling further than commuters in any other major urban area. In addition, the City of Toronto has the fewest bike paths per capita of the cities studied. For detailed findings, read the Toronto Case Study.
For more information, visit the Coolest Cities web page.
There Has Never Been a Better Time Not to Buy a Reactor
Groups ask McGuinty to delay buying new reactor and instead replace aging reactors with green power
Conditions have changed and the McGuinty government should support its own Green Energy Act by deciding against buying new nuclear reactors this summer, say thirteen prominent environmental organizations in an open letter to the Premier.
The groups say there has never been a better time not to buy a nuclear reactor, and they urge the Premier to forgo spending billions on new nuclear and instead put his Green Energy Act to work by replacing the aging Pickering B nuclear station with green energy.
Learn more: Media release | Backgrounder | Letter to the Premier
Green Energy Act: A Renewable Is Doable Perspective
Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, George Smitherman announced Ontario’s forward-looking Green Energy Act (GEA) in February. A major concern with the Ontario GEA is that it stands in sharp contrast to the province’s current electricity plan, which foresees only eight per cent of all of the power produced by 2027 coming from new green power sources like wind and solar.
Plugging Ontario Into A Green Future: A Renewable Is Doable Action Plan
Plugging Ontario Into A Green Future demonstrates that the best opportunity to develop a green energy economy in Ontario is to allow sustainable sources of power to replace ageing nuclear reactors when they are scheduled to shut down beginning in 2013.
CBC Newsworld Documentary
CBC's Newsworld links Plugging Ontario Into A Green Future with a documentary on a booming renewable energy industry in Germany. 
Ontario's
abundance of renewable energy makes it a prime province for developing
this resource. Will it take this golden opportunity to revolutionize
our energy systems or repeat mistakes of the past?
The Fifth Estate: The Gospel of Green
The 5th Estate documents Germany's rise to become the renewable 
energy powerhouse of the industrialized world.
Read More About:
- Ontario's Green Energy Choice: Replacing old Nuclear Reactors with Green Energy
- How to: A 7-Step Renewable Is Doable Action Plan
- Climate Change and Nuclear Energy - Why nuclear energy will lead to more — not less — GHG pollution in Ontario
- The Nuclear Ceiling: How nuclear investment blocks a strong green economy in Ontario
More...