Just and Accountable Futures: Developing a Proposed Climate Policy Accountability Approach for the City of Toronto

Black and racialized communities represent nearly 70% of Toronto’s low-income neighbourhoods, which are more severely impacted by the consequences of climate change. The City of Toronto recognizes that community-wide participation is necessary for effective climate action, and youth, as such, are a key group for engagement. Black and racialized youth living in Neighbourhood Improvement Areas (NIAs) form the intersection between the social, environmental, and geographic aspects of the climate crisis. While the City of Toronto has committed to a climate action plan (TransformTO) and has accountability models such as the Anti-Black Racism Partnership and Accountability Circle, the two policy areas do not presently converge. To tackle this challenge, this case study will explore how the City may achieve accountability with regards to climate policy, to and with Black and racialized youth living in NIAs.

This research is conducted in collaboration with Youth Climate Action Toronto (Y-CAT). The Youth Climate Action in Toronto (Y-CAT) project examines how the City of Toronto can enable, empower and equip youth leadership in climate action in Toronto to support the implementation of the City’s Climate Action Strategy – TransformTO.