If we are to meet the 1.5-degree limit and protect ourselves from climate extremes, climate champions, particularly in the developing world, need solidarity. We must make up time lost to foot-dragging, arm-twisting and the naked greed of entrenched interests raking in billions from fossil fuels.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced that he would reverse plans to open the protected Greenbelt lands for housing development after expressing regret at reneging on his promise not to touch the Greenbelt. Last year, the provincial government took 7,400 acres of land in the Greenbelt to build 50,000 homes in order to ease the housing crisis. However, the province’s Auditor General found that the process to select lands was rushed and favoured certain developers. The Housing Minister has since resigned from the Cabinet for his failure to properly oversee the process that led to protected Greenbelt lands being selected for housing development. The Greenbelt was created in 2005 to permanently protect agricultural and environmentally sensitive lands from urban development. See: https://nationalpost.com/ news/politics/d-ends-greenbelt-development#:~:text=Ontario%20Premier%20Doug%20Ford%20is,and%20two%20top%20staffers%20resign.