Brantford City Council unanimously endorsed the final report of a Community Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) during their regular meeting on Tuesday, July 26.
The plan focuses on actions that community members can take to reduce their own emissions and equipping them with tools to make behavioural changes, such as reducing single passenger vehicles, making their homes and buildings more energy efficient, reducing their waste and water use, and focusing on carbon offsets that absorb emissions from the atmosphere.
“I am very pleased that Council unanimously endorsed the Community Climate Change Action Plan,” said Mayor Kevin Davis, City of Brantford. “Taking measurable action on climate change will require ongoing collaborative efforts as both a community and as individuals, and this Plan will provide our residents with the tools needed to achieve our goal of being a greener City.”
In December 2019, City Council made the Climate Emergency and Imperative Climate Action declaration. This declaration addressed the need for the City of Brantford and all of its residents to reduce the use of fossil fuels and other sources of GHGs. In November 2020, Brantford City Council approved the Corporate Climate Change Action Plan and emissions reduction targets to become a net-zero City by 2050. To complement the corporate targets and actions outlined in this Plan, City staff initiated an extensive community engagement process to inform the City’s Climate Change Action Plan, outlining actions that can be taken by all members of the Brantford community.
“City staff have been working collaboratively with residents to determine the steps needed for our community to become a net-zero City by 2050,” said Ward 4 Councillor Cheryl Antoski, “The Community Climate Change Action Plan not only outlines how the community can take action on climate change but also includes innovative ideas and actions that come directly from residents.”
Since 2018, the City has made many strides to achieve milestones of the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) network. The City of Brantford is proud to announce the achievement of Milestone 4 for the work on the Corporate Climate Change Action Plan after demonstrating that the actions set for the Plan have been implemented effectively. Since the approval of the Corporate CCAP in November 2020, the City has implemented several measures to reduce the Corporation’s carbon footprint including expanding the tree canopy, converting City fleets to electric, switching to LED lighting, and more.
The City is committed to taking further actions as outlined in the Corporate CCAP and working diligently towards achieving the final Milestone by 2023. To learn more about how the City of Brantford is taking action on climate change and how you can get involved, please visit www.brantford.ca/ClimateAction.
