climate action – Page 2

5 January 20266 January 2026

Extended Producer Responsibility, What is it? Why should you care?

Have you ever noticed how much packaging surrounds the products we buy? Tiny items delivered in oversized boxes stuffed with Styrofoam or bubble wrap, slices of cheese or bread individually wrapped in plastic envelopes, fruit or vegetables bundled on plastic trays covered in plastic wrap, blister packs for tiny items, embedded on large cardboard shelf hangers, (that are virtually impossible to open), or electronics wrapped in foam, inside a box which is then wrapped in another box.

All this may be about to change in Ontario. This past Thursday, January 1st, responsibility for residential recycling in the province shifted away from municipal governments. The costs of collecting and disposing of recycled material are now borne by retailers and packaging producers under a policy approach called Extended Producer Responsibility, (EPR).

29 December 20258 January 2026

Year End Report

Aneet speaks with students and parents about One-Planet Living

So what has the Brampton Environmental Alliance been up to in 2025 and why should you care? Let me start by answering the second question first. While economic challenges such as food inflation, home affordability and U.S. tariffs dominate the news cycle, the impacts of climate change and environmental destruction take bigger and bigger bites from our pay cheques each year while negatively affecting the lives of every Canadian.

22 December 20258 January 2026

Building a Healthy and Connected Bramalea wraps up another year

Since 2020, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority has teamed with City of Brampton, the Federal Government’s Healthy Communities Initiative, and United Way, to fund projects in Bramalea’s K, E, and F sections as part of the Bramalea Sustainable Neighbourhood Action Plan (SNAP). More background about the Bramalea SNAP project can be found in a previous post.

15 December 202521 December 2025

Do we need fewer Conservation Authorities in Ontario?

The Ontario government is once again proposing sweeping changes to Provincial Conservation Authorities. Since the PC Party of Ontario came to power in 2019 it has passed several pieces of legislation limiting the powers of Ontario’s conservation authorities. This latest proposal represents the most significant change to date. Why should you care?

6 December 20258 January 2026

Peel Region’s Biodiversity and Climate Change Strategy

Biodiversity refers to the variety of life on Earth in all its forms from single celled bacteria to complex organisms, to complete ecosystems. We depend on vibrant and healthy ecosystems to sustain us. According to the United Nations over 1/2 of global GDP is dependent on nature and over 1 billion people rely on forests for their livelihoods. Many millions more rely on the oceans for seafood and on pollinator organisms to grow crops.

24 November 20258 January 2026

COP 30: Canada’s Progress on Climate Commitments

Reflections on Achievements and Next Steps After the 2025 UN Climate Summit

Introduction

The 30th Conference of the Parties (COP 30) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), concluding in Belém, Brazil on November 21, 2025, marked a pivotal moment in the global response to climate change. This year’s summit brought together world leaders, scientists, Indigenous representatives, and civil society to review progress, set new targets, and accelerate climate action. For Canadians concerned about the environment and our country’s international commitments, COP 30 offered both milestones and ongoing challenges in the journey towards a sustainable future.

6 October 20257 October 2025

Ontario Climate Summit October 3-5, 2025

David Miller speaks at the Ontario Climate Summit

“The Science is real, the problem is urgent. Global greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by 50% by 2030 to avoid climate catastrophe”. Those were the words from David Miller, the keynote speaker at the Ontario Climate Summit held at the University of Toronto this past weekend, attended by four members of the BEA Board, Polly, Rhythm, Dayle and David.

David Miller is the Managing Director of the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. The C40 Centre provides mayors, policymakers and city practitioners with the evidence, analysis and policy guidance needed to implement progressive and equitable climate action.

Mr. Miller went on to say that 80% of the people surveyed in Canada want governments to take stronger climate action, that people believe in the science but vastly overestimate the number and strength of the opposition. He said only 17% are climate deniers, the “drill baby drill” folks, but that their oversized voices tend to sway political discussions and policy making.

11 August 202512 March 2026

BEA presents a workshop on recycling, waste management and composting.

This past Thursday, July 24th, 3 members of our BEA board, including David Laing, Aneet Sandhu & Yarim Hinojosa, gave a presentation to the Knightsbridge Association in Brampton.

This presentation showed the benefits of proper recycling, waste management, composting and the benefits of eating more plants and how proper diversion of waste can help the region of Peel reach its waste diversion targets.

Did you know? The Peel Region has set a target to divert 70% of all waste away from landfill by 2036. Currently it sits at 50% and diverting more green bin waste would go a long way in helping the Region achieve their target.

13 July 202521 July 2025

Brampton to hold Public Consultations on the Future of Bike Lanes

Father and daughter ride along the Howden Bike Lanes

Brampton staff are organizing public consultations over the next few weeks to solicit feedback on the future of Brampton’s bike lanes particularly the protected bike lanes along Howden Boulevard from North Park to Dixie. See below for currently scheduled sessions.

4 drop-in public sessions at different locations/times so residents can learn more, review the data, and share their feedback in person:
- July 23 at BCC Terminal (2–6 PM)
- July 26 at BCC Mall (12–4 PM)
- July 29 & 31 at Chinguacousy Park Sandra Park Hames Centre (4–8 PM)
Online survey open from July 21 to August 7 on the City’s Let’s Connect page — we’ll be promoting this widely through mailouts, social, signage, and flyers.
We’re reaching about 6,000 households directly in the project area plus doing broader promotion to make sure people know how to get involved.

Whether or not you are a cyclist, or a support of active transportation, please come out to one of these sessions to learn the facts about how bike lanes affect traffic and road safety in our city.

If you are not able to attend one of the sessions, you can complete the survey on-line. First check out Dayle Laing’s BikeBrampton post for an analysis of the four options and more background information that will help you with your feedback.

This is more than just the future of a few bike lanes. It’s about the transportation vision for the City of Brampton that is environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.

9 June 20259 June 2025

Another Provincial Attack on Environmental Sustainability

Brampton's Sustainable Development Guidelines

The Provincial Government continued its attack on environmental sustainability this past week, by passing Bill 5 “Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act” and Bill 17, Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025″. They did so despite strong opposition from environmental groups, opposition parties, and First Nations Peoples.