Carbon in the Bank: Ontario’s Greenbelt and Its Role in Mitigating Climate Change

Published by: David Suzuki Foundation
Authored by: Ray Tomalty

Cities eco-assets, Ontario, agriculture, policy and regulation, conservation, decarbonization, greenhouse gas emissions, economics, climate change, natural capital, forests

This report is the sixth in a series that studies natural capital and ecosystem services in Canada’s major urban centres. It highlights the important role that the Ontario Greenbelt’s forests, wetlands and agricultural soils play in capturing and storing vast amounts of carbon.

A principle goal of the report is to bring the importance of the Greenbelt as an instrument of climate change mitigation into relief by translating these essential ecosystem services into economic values. The report also examines a number of threats to the long-term ability of the Greenbelt to serve this climate regulation function and argues that Ontario’s climate change policy framework should be revised to strengthen its ability to protect essential functions and even enhance the Greenbelt’s natural capacities as a carbon sink.