City to develop Climate Change Action Plan

Brantford, ON - At its Committee of the Whole-Operations and Administration meeting held Tuesday November 12, 2019, members of Brantford City Council unanimously voted in favour of passing a resolution declaring a climate emergency and imperative climate action for the City of Brantford. The resolution further declares the City’s commitment, in principle, to becoming net carbon neutral by 2050.

At the same meeting, Committee members received a staff report and presentation outlining the parameters of a Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) for the City to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Earlier this year The City of Brantford received funding from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) to hire a staff person to develop a plan focused on mitigating Brantford’s contribution to climate change. As a first step, the City has completed a greenhouse gas emissions inventory. This step is milestone 1 of the Partners in Climate Protection program, which is an FCM network made up of 350 municipalities that support emissions reduction at the municipal level.

The next steps in the development of the CCAP will be to set targets for emissions reduction and formulating a comprehensive plan to meet those targets. The emissions inventory will provide valuable insight into where the emissions are being produced and what areas should be considered first for reduction programs. The CCAP will be developed throughout the next year and include consultations with residents, businesses, industry representatives, institutions, and other stakeholders who will be encouraged to participate in the planning process.

A campaign aimed at awareness of climate change and the importance of sustainability is also planned for 2020, which marks the 50^th anniversary of Earth Day. The campaign will target different topics related to climate change each month and will highlight practical tips for how to reduce emissions. For example, the month of August will be Local Food Month, highlighting the Farmer’s Market and the local farmers in the area. By buying locally grown food, emissions from long distance transportation of food are reduced. The campaign will kick off in January 2020 and will feature a series of events, contests, and information on ways to reduce your personal carbon footprint.

A key component of the CAAP is a communications and engagement campaign to educate residents about the climate emergency, the carbon reduction strategy, and the immediate need to mobilize at the local, provincial, national, and global levels.

To learn more about how you can be involved in this project, please contact Rochelle Rumney, Climate Change Officer, City of Brantford, at rrumney@brantford.ca.

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“We’re happy to have completed this first milestone in our Climate Change Action Plan.  I’m excited to be working with our community to support environmental sustainability in Brantford and across the country. This is a great opportunity to start a local conversation about climate change and how we can work together to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.”

-Rochelle Rumney, Climate Change Officer, City of Brantford

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Media Contact:

Maria Visocchi, Director, Communications and Community Engagement | City of Brantford | Office: 519.759.4150 Ext. 5754 | mvisocchi@brantford.ca

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