A report to be presented to the City of Saskatoon’s Environment, Utilities and Corporate Services committee on Monday states that per capita emissions are down by 20 per cent since 2014. Eight years ago, carbon dioxide emissions per person were 15.6 tonnes while the 2021 progress report cites emissions at 12.4 tonnes.

Director of Sustainability, Jeanna South, says last year Saskatoon emitted just over 3.5-million tonnes of carbon dioxide, which is a 9 per cent reduction from 2014.
There were reductions in all sectors except Agriculture. Emissions from the City’s own operations decreased by 3 per cent, with the greatest reductions in the Buildings and Streetlights sectors.

The goal is to reduce emissions by 80 per cent below the 2014 baseline by 2050 for both the community and the City’s own operations. The interim target for 2023 is a 15 per cent reduction for the community and 40 per cent for the City.

Energy generation and the Alternative Currents plan will also be discussed at the meeting.  South says, “Fossil fuels are increasingly costly, and we cannot control for that. What we can do is look at ways to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels so that we insulate the City budget and the mill rate from this variable to some degree.”

Some specific initiatives in the plan to help with corporate climate action targets include installing solar panels on municipal rooftops and land, the expansion of landfill gas capture, procuring renewable energy, residential rebates and reviewing solar panel access to encourage residents to get on board. Each action in the plan will be brought forward separately for funding approval from Council before any further work progresses.