For Mother’s Day Young Ontarians and Green Party ask for a Clean Energy Future 

May 8, 2024 – On Monday, May 6, three young Ontarians joined Green Party of Ontario Leader Mike Schreiner and MPP Aislinn Clancy in addressing the media to discuss why Ontario needs to stop burning fossil gas (also known as “natural gas”) for electricity production. The press conference can be viewed here and feel free to embed the YouTube video into your website.

Three speakers addressed the media: 

• Mary Blake Rose, Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada, Deputy Project Manager (joined by 8-month-old Niko)
• Grace Kuang, Medical Student, University of Toronto
• Robert, 11-Year-Old Climate Activist, “Robert at Children’s Climate Championship” on YouTube

The speakers were joined by eleven other climate advocates. The group included members of Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada, CAPE Ontario, For Our Kids Toronto, TERRE, and SCAN! Toronto, who came from as far as North Bay, Ontario and included an infant and three other youth under the age of 12.

The group’s overall ask of the government was to replace fossil gas with cheaper, cleaner, renewable energy sources. The three reasons why are:

Our Money: New renewable electricity is cheaper than new fossil gas-generated electricity and gas plants risk becoming stranded assets;

Our Health: Climate change and burning fossil gas both pose significant risks to our health;

Our Future: We are in a climate emergency and fossil gas is mostly methane, a potent greenhouse gas. We need to lower our greenhouse gas emissions to protect the future of young people in Ontario and of generations to come.

In response to a question about feasibility concerns often cited by the government with regards to renewable energy, Mary Blake Rose from Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada said, “Renewables work quite well and can be built more affordably than fossil gas. The idea that we have to keep going back to gas plants because they’re familiar … that’s the thinking of last century.”

The health impacts of fossil gas were also a central point of discussion. Medical student Grace Kuang opened her remarks with a story about seeing the effects of air pollution first-hand. “First-year anatomy lab. I’m staring down at a pair of black, tarry lungs. I asked my TA, ‘Was this guy a lifelong smoker?’ ‘No,’ he says, ‘he just lived in a really polluted neighbourhood in Toronto.’” 

Taking place in the lead-up to Mother’s Day, the press conference focused in particular on protecting the future of Ontario’s children and youth. Said 11-year-old Robert, “I’m just a kid, I want the same chance to grow up happy and healthy as you have all had. I’m begging you all, there isn’t anything more urgent than this issue.” 

After the media scrum, guests went into the legislature at Queen’s Park to watch Question Period. Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner expressed his deep concerns that, “This government is going to increase climate pollution by 580 percent, by investing in fossil gas plants which are more expensive and create toxic air pollution.”

The group is returning to Queen’s Park in October to keep pushing for a clean energy future.  With California and Germany setting unprecedented clean electricity benchmarks, they refuse to remain passive spectators.

More information about why Ontario should transition away from fossil gas and how this can be achieved is available in the media packet created for the event.

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MEDIA PACKET:
Later is too late

We want a livable future for the children and youth of Ontario. One of the most significant threats to this future is climate change, but the Ontario government wants to build new fossil gas plants for electricity generation. Fossil gas threatens our health and the environment, and it is ultimately more expensive than renewable alternatives. We are heading to Queen’s Park so the government can hear from young people about why we need to move on from fossil gas.

The Media Packet

• Later Is Too Late Media Packet pdf
• Later Is Too Late Media Packet word

Our Ask

We are asking the Ontario government to replace fossil gas with cheaper, cleaner, renewable energy sources. In concrete terms, this means:

• Stop the expansion of infrastructure for fossil gas-fired electricity;
• Expand and accelerate the procurement of electricity from renewable sources;
• Pursue more conservation, demand management, and distributed energy networks.

The Three Reasons Why

• Our Money: New renewable electricity is cheaper than new fossil gas-generated electricity and gas plants risk becoming stranded assets;
• Our Health: Climate change and burning fossil gas both pose significant risks to our health;
• Our Future: We are in a climate emergency and fossil gas is mostly methane, a potent greenhouse gas. We need to lower our greenhouse gas emissions to protect the future of young people in Ontario and of generations to come.

Further Information

Included in the media packet are highly-cited yet brief write-ups on specific topics related to phasing out fossil gas and expanding renewable energy generation.

• Ontario Should Pause Expansion of Fossil Gas-Fired Electricity Plants
• Expand and Accelerate the Procurement of Electricity from Renewable Sources
• Pursuing More Conservation, Demand management and Distributed Energy Networks
• Lifting the Moratorium on Off-shore Great Lakes Wind Power
• Removing Red Tape for Solar Installation
• Local Opposition to New Gas Plants
• Climate Action is a Matter of Fiscal Responsibility
• Renewable Energy is Cheaper than Fossil Gas 
• Renewable Energy and Storage are Unstoppable
• The Dire Picture of Climate Change in Ontario
• Why Ontario Should Reconsider its Opposition to the OEB

MEDIA ADVISORY:
Young Ontarians ask for a clean energy future

Three young Ontarians will join Green Party of Ontario Leader Mike Schreiner
in addressing the media to discuss why Ontario needs to
stop burning fossil gas for electricity production.

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Contact Information: Mary Blake Rose, (226)-236-3637 maryblake.rose@citizensclimatelobby.org

Date: Monday, May 6, 2024
Time: 9:30am
Location: Queen’s Park Media Studio
Speakers: Mike Schreiner, Leader of the Green Party of Ontario; Mary Blake Rose, Deputy Project Manager for Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada; Grace Kuang, Medical Student at The University of Toronto; and 11-year-old Robert of the YouTube channel “Robert at Children’s Climate Championship”