The latest report from city administration, going to committee on Tuesday the emissions reduction targets for 2023 will not be achieved.

Jeanna South, Director of Sustainability with the City of Saskatoon says while a number of initiatives through the Low Emissions Plan and the Corporate Climate Adaptation Strategy started in 2020, it’s still too early to see significant emissions reductions, although the first steps will lay the groundwork to increase future emissions savings.

The pandemic has also been considered to hindering the City’s timeline. South says some of the projects may have delayed their start due to COVID.

A total of 21 initiatives progressed in 2020 to help reduce the both emissions in the overall community and emissions generated from City operations.

The goals set by the City is to reduce emissions by 40 per cent for City operations and 15 per cent for the community by 2023 while 2050, the goal is to reduce emissions by 80 per cent in both categories.

While the City expects the 2023 goals won’t be met, the targets laid out for 2050 can still be achieved if the initiatives planned can be executed according to the recommended schedule.

South noted that many of the projects and initiatives being planned aren’t necessarily specifically directed at lower emission, but saving money for taxpayers and perhaps improving health and safety. While some of these projects come to the table during budget deliberations, not all may be approved and will therefore slightly impact the overall targets that the city has established for 2023 and 2050.

The Committee on Environment, Utilities and Corporate Services will discuss the report at 9:30 Tuesday morning.