Electric vehicle rebate among staff proposals to speed up Toronto’s target to become a carbon neutral city by 2030
by Ben Kravitz
As the deadline for submitting the staff proposal for the city’s “goals and targets to drive our carbon neutral society” looms on October 1, the City of Toronto is receiving more than a hundred proposals from staffers, consultants and industry professionals looking to meet the target of becoming a carbon neutral city.
Here’s a look at several of the proposals to meet the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.
Proposals for the Mayor’s Office and the City Council
Staff proposals to increase municipal electric car rebates to $1,250 for a new battery electric vehicle
The City of Toronto has committed to purchasing electric vehicles that meet emission standards. While not all of Toronto’s cars actually fall under this threshold, the city has committed to ensuring that they are. It has also committed to providing rebates to eligible buyers.
Electric car rebates are a key component of providing these incentives and, according to the city’s staff proposal for the 2030 green transportation targets, $1,250 of a buyer’s rebate would be provided for a new battery electric vehicle.
The city will also require all new vehicles sold within Toronto to have electric power outlets and charging infrastructure at vehicle entry points. In addition, a number of existing vehicles will have to be updated with the latest standard for electric motors. This will cost Ontario taxpayers approximately $3 million.
At a City of Toronto press conference on March 13, Mayor John Tory called for the city to be carbon neutral by 2050 – meaning the target date for achieving it. The city has committed to achieving 50 per cent of its goal by 2025. The city’s staff proposal states that this goal has been approved by an “informed” committee.
Council’s Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Community Development, Toronto
The staff proposal to increase the electric car rebate to $1,250 for a new battery electric vehicle was originally included on the City Council’s Transportation Policy Committee’s list of policy priorities.
The proposal to increase the rebate was removed from this list in June 2017 after it failed to garner enough