AMO - Municipal Climate Change Action in Ontario

Extreme weather affects our local economies, the environment and quality of life in our communities. Municipalities own most of Canada’s infrastructure, so investing in sustainable local projects will help meet provincial emission targets and also protect residents and economies from the effects of climate change.

On November 25, 2015, AMO and the Union of Municipalities of Québec signed a Climate Change Action Covenant that commits the two associations to work together and support each other on climate action. The Covenant signals to the federal and provincial governments that municipalities in Canada’s most populous provinces are willing partners in the fight against climate change.

Municipalities have long been climate action champions, showing proactive leadership at the local level. Local governments regularly invest in infrastructure that contributes to lower greenhouse gas emissions and helps communities adapt to climate change.

AMO Documents

Examples below illustrate some municipal work in action:

Adapting to Climate Change

Includes implementing plans that can help reduce the impact of changing weather patterns.

The City of Thunder Bay is becoming a climate-ready city by developing a Climate Adaptation Strategy. The City is following an internationally-recognized framework and is currently in the consultation phase. To date, more than 170 people have participated in the consultation process.
The City of Peterborough is in the second phase of its Climate Change Action Plan project. The Plan’s overarching goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce the use of fossil fuels, lower energy consumption and help the Greater Peterborough Area adapt to climate change.

Public Transit Systems

Transit systems reduce the number of cars on the road and supports strong local economies by getting people where they need to be. Close to 100 Ontario municipalities operate local transit systems.

Between 2006 and 2014, the Town of Collingwood invested in new buses, accessible transit vehicles and service improvements. This work has led to a 163 per cent increase in ridership. This means less cars on the road in Collingwood.
In 2011, the City of Ottawa purchased 75 double-decker buses for OC Transpo. Double-decker buses can transport almost double the number of passengers of a traditional articulated bus providing people with a more efficient ride and saving on operating costs.

Effective Stormwater Management

Sormwater management reduces flooding and maintains water quality in our lakes, rivers and streams. Municipalities develop stormwater management plans to help control the runoff from rain and melted snow and protect our environment.

The City of Kitchener provides incentives for residents and businesses to reduce the amount of stormwater runoff from their properties through a user-fee program. The program operates on a tiered flat-fee basis, meaning that properties with a lot of impervious surfaces, like driveways and parking lots, will pay a higher rate for stormwater management. Local rate-payers can reduce fees by making changes that improve stormwater management such as reducing the amount of impervious area on the property or installing a rain barrel.
The City of Waterloo has a similar program in place and the City of Mississauga introduced a stormwater charge in 2016.

Community Energy Initiatives

Include renewable energy projects like solar panels as well as streetlight replacement programs where inefficient streetlights are replaced with high-efficiency LEDs. These innovative projects save on energy consumption and costs and can even produce revenue.

In 2013, the City of Brockville installed solar panels on the roof of a local arena and also completed a number of energy-efficient retrofits. The solar panels installed on the rooftop are expected to save the City about $200,000 and provide carbon offsets of about 233 metric tons each year of the panel’s 20-year lifespan.
In 2008, Sudbury’s Housing Corporation installed a custom designed SolarWall® system. The system draws heated air off the top of the SolarWall® panels for use in the building’s ventilation system. It also displaces approximately 2,162 Gigajoules (GJ) of energy each year and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 186 tonnes per year. In addition, this innovate project saves the organization more than $23,000 each year in heating costs.

In 2014 and 2015 alone, Ontario municipalities saved 55,400 kilowatt hours of electricity and 5,250 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide by installing efficient LED streetlights. This work has saved taxpayers more than $8 million in energy costs and $2.7 million in maintenance costs.

Efficient Municipal Buildings

Efficient municipal buildings include many environmentally friendly features and are designed to maximize energy savings.

The City of London’s Stoney Creek Community Centre, London Energy Efficiency Partnership, and Integrated energy mapping London's greenhouse gas reduction efforts can be traced back as far as its Vision '96 — Planning for Tomorrow activities and more recently to its 2003 Air Quality in London — Moving Forward Locally air quality plan.
In April 2014, the Town of Halton Hills approved a new set of Green Development Standards. These new standards encourage more sustainable, high-performance and efficient development that will contribute to economic prosperity, a cleaner environment as well as social and cultural wellbeing. The City of Mississauga, City of Toronto and Town of East Gwillimbury have all undertaken similar initiatives.

Diverting Waste from Landfill

Diverting waste from landfill is a key municipal priority as 649 of Ontario’s 730 landfills have closed in the last 25 years. The world’s first Blue Box system was developed and expanded in Ontario and municipal governments continue to look for waste management solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and keep our garbage out of landfills.

Waste Diversion Ontario reports that of the 4.9 million tonnes of residential waste produced in 2013, 47.3 per cent was diverted from landfill. Recycling our waste instead of sending it to landfill reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 2.99 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2013.
York Region’s Integrated Waste Management Master Plan The SM4RT Living Plan (Integrated Waste Management Master Plan) identifies more than 60 initiatives that set the stage for waste management in York Region over the next 25 to 40 years. Starting with 32 of these initiatives within the next five years (2014-2018), the focus will be on the 4 Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle and recover; working toward zero waste.

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Municipal Climate Change Action in Ontario