Driving results: York Region cuts emissions and diesel use with electric fleet

Newmarket – York Regional Council received an update on The Regional Municipality of York’s 2024 corporate greenhouse gas emissions and energy costs.

“As our communities grow and the demand for Regional programs and services increase annually, our commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 becomes increasingly vital,” said Eric Jolliffe, York Region Chairman and CEO. “By continuously implementing electrification and energy-saving initiatives, we are making steadfast progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

Highlights of the York Region’s 2024 Corporate Energy Update include:

• Continuing to trend below pre-pandemic corporate emissions targets set by the Region
• Implementing the Corporate Fleet Electrification Plan, saving 115,000 litres of gasoline and lowering net emissions by 229 tonnes
• Reporting record high York Region Transit ridership, up by 12% to 23.7 million riders, offsetting single vehicle use and reducing traffic congestion; while this led to a 3% increase in transit bus emissions, overall environmental impacts from increased ridership are more sustainable
• Electrifying 14 transit buses and conserving 53,600 litres of diesel fuel in 2024; adding another 50 electric buses in 2025 and another 50 in 2026 to further reduce diesel fuel consumption 

"By prioritizing a ‘conservation first’ approach, York Region is seeing measurable emission reductions in fleet vehicles and buildings, demonstrating success of current efforts and prudent use of investment in a more sustainable future," said City of Richmond Hill Mayor, David West, Chair of Public Works - Environmental Services. "Amid growing pressures of climate change, York Region is demonstrating strong cost-effective initiatives towards mitigation and adaptation."

Most corporate emissions are from fossil fuel consumption, including gasoline, diesel fuel and natural gas. Innovations to electrify vehicles and buildings are one of the fastest growing areas of climate mitigation technology and proving to be a dominant path toward York Region’s net-zero emissions commitment.

Looking ahead, Canada’s Carbon Price legislation repeal is expected to reduce fossil fuel costs in 2025. Recent sustainability initiatives continue to deliver steady and consistent annual corporate greenhouse gas emissions reductions. However, challenges with supply chain delays and tariff impacts, limited heavy vehicle electrification technology and replacing assets too early all need to be managed to continue reducing emissions.

Energy Conservation and Demand Management Plan initiatives deliver annual decreases in corporate greenhouse gas emissions toward an 81% reduction by 2050 and support climate change mitigation in the 2022 Climate Change Action Plan. Learn more at york.ca/Energy

The Regional Municipality of York consists of nine local cities and towns and provides a variety of programs and services to 1.29 million residents and 57,000 businesses with approximately 624,000 employees. More information about York Region’s key service areas is available at york.ca/RegionalServices

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Media Contacts

Tiki Reid, Corporate Communications, The Regional Municipality of York 
Email: @email

Melissa Pinto, Corporate Communications, The Regional Municipality of York 
Email: @email