Bryan Purcell

Leadership is needed to follow the data and deliver widely available climate solutions

11/2024 - Bryan Purcell, VP Policy and Programs, provides his insights on the 2023 Carbon Emissions Inventory for the GTHA.

Local incentives would get developers on board to build better

8/2024 - If municipalities across the GTHA want developers to step up and build better buildings, it's time for better incentives to get the industry onboard, so that today’s ambitious targets become tomorrow’s minimum expectation.

Performance gap reality check: Why aren’t buildings operating the way they were designed to?

2/2024 - Over the last decade, TAF and others have identified considerable gaps between what building policies are designed to achieve and real-world building performance. Bryan Purcell explores what we need to make theory meet practice.

How not to be discouraged by this year’s carbon emissions inventory

11/2023 - There is growing interest across the GTHA in adopting key climate mitigation technologies, and the best news is that they’re now all more cost effective than the fossil fuels. 

The Atmospheric Fund congratulates City of Toronto on innovative revenue tools to fight climate change

8/2023 - TAF applauds City of Toronto staff and the mayor for their hard work and leadership in advancing these bold proposals.

Toronto climate priorities every mayoral candidate should get behind

5/2023 - Toronto’s next leader should put fast, effective climate action at the centre of the city’s cornerstone strategies for economic development, housing, transportation, health, and more. VP Bryan Purcell discusses three practical actions needed.

The progress and pitfalls of decarbonizing a megaregion

11/2022 - The latest edition of the carbon emissions inventory for the GTHA shows that action is picking up speed but still nowhere near the critical pace needed for lift-off, and we are rapidly running out of runway.

Ontario’s next gas plant scandal

10/2022 - On October 7th, Ontario’s Minister of Energy directed the IESO to procure 1,500 megawatts of new natural gas plants to generate electricity. This decision was taken without any public consultation, based on a short IESO report with no financial analysis or comparison of other pathways. Amidst increasing fossil fuel prices and plummeting costs of readily available clean solutions, investing in new gas plants would be environmentally and fiscally reckless. But it’s not a done deal.

How Ontario’s proposed clean energy program will actually increase carbon

3/2022 - Ontario's proposed clean energy credit system may sound like a high-impact climate action, but it won’t lead to cleaner electricity. How can clean energy credits increase carbon pollution? Find out

Climate and affordability depend on these essential building code updates

3/2022 - Ontario’s building code is only updated every five to seven years, so we can’t afford to miss this opportunity to reduce carbon emissions by building better buildings that are cleaner and more affordable to operate. Read our recommendations to align it with an affordable, net zero future.

Toronto sets ambitious net zero target by 2040

11/2021 - TAF outlines some key components of the TransformTO Net Zero Strategy and provides our take on how it needs to be strengthened to achieve net zero by 2040.

IESO study on gas phaseout misses the point

10/2021 - As electricity emissions increase exponentially in Ontario, TAF and others including industry leaders and 31 municipalities have advocated for a fair study to explore the alternatives. IESO's new study falls fatally short.