energy efficiency

How Ontario’s new energy plans can tackle surging electricity emissions

11/2024 - Laura McLoskey, Climate Policy Coordinator, weighs in on various stakeholder consultations about Ontario's energy future.

Demand for prefabricated overcladding is here, supply is catching up

11/2024 - How can we make building retrofits faster, easier, and less expensive? Keith Burrows, Director, Low-Carbon Buildings, takes us on a journey of insulation that goes on the outside of an existing building.

How demand-side management investments deliver a reliable, low-carbon grid

9/2024 - With the right public and private investments, demand-side management is one of the best tools we have to minimize the need for gas plants and grid expansion, keep electricity costs down, and build on Ontario’s past record as a leading low-carbon power producer.

A new building policy approach that’s working

11/2023 - Existing building performance has been historically challenging to regulate, but that’s changing with the recent proliferation of mandatory building performance standards (BPS) across North America.

Will Ontario’s net-zero electricity grid cost $400 billion?

12/2022 - Decarbonization isn’t a barrier to affordability – it’s the key to an economical, reliable electricity grid. TAF provides analysis of the IESO's Pathways to Decarbonization study.

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.

Dear election candidates: Climate action means working across issues and regional lines

10/2022 - To handle the complex and intersectional issues that face our region, hopeful new leaders will need to follow the carbon and collaborate.

Breaking ground on a climate-friendly way to heat and cool homes in Toronto

7/2022 - TVO -“It’s really critical that we get all new developments to net-zero or near-zero as soon as possible. Low-carbon district energy is one way to address that challenge,” says Bryan Purcell.

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.

Three key climate measures for Toronto’s 2022 budget

2/2022 - Council will vote on the City Budget this Thursday: what do we want to see most? To continue its role as a climate leader, Toronto needs to shift to implementation in top three climate priority areas: Climate Lens Policy, electrification of public bus fleets, and green development standards.

Hybrid heat pumps can be a stopgap to an electric future

2/2022 - New case studies show the promise of hybrid heat pumps in the GTHA, and Erik Jansen of TRCA explores the upsides and downsides of the technology.

How To Heat Your Home Without Heating The Planet

11/2021 - CHATELAINE - CEO Julia Langer discusses practical and inspiring reasons to make the switch to heat pumps. "It's not that complicated - you don’t need fossil fuels to heat your home."