10 Ontario municipalities join international Showcase Cities climate change initisative

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Ontario Construction News staff writer

Twenty-five Canadian municipalities, including 10 in Ontario, have been selected to join the first Showcase Cities cohort led by the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) Canada. Over the next year, these municipalities will receive intensive support to help reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapt to climate change.

Through the pilot project which includes technical support, training, networking opportunities and access to tools and resources, each municipality will advance their ambitious climate action objectives.

“The Global Covenant of Mayors is an ambitious framework. It will help our municipalities take direct action to address the impacts of climate change and reduce their GHG emissions,” said Bill Karsten, president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). “These 25 municipalities are our leaders, and they want to take their climate action further.”

Municipalities are implementing low-carbon solutions—from building retrofits to green transit fleets. And with municipalities influencing half of Canada’s GHG emissions, scaling up local solutions is key to meeting Canada’s climate targets, Karsten said. The project partners are working to advance Canadian local climate action “by adding value, opportunities and streamlined support for Showcase Cities participants.”

“Together we are creating ambitious plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and preparing our communities for the impacts of a changing climate,” said Megan Meaney, executive director of the Canada office of ICLEI.

The Global Covenant of Mayors Canada is a collaboration between FCM, ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, the Global Covenant of Mayors Secretariat and the International Urban Cooperation Project supported by funding from the European Union.

The initiative combines two leading domestic climate programs, the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) program and Building Adaptive and Resilient Communities (BARC), with the leading global climate program.

The GCoM Canada is piloting this approach, which will build on FCM and ICLEI’s more than 25 years’ experience in delivering climate change programs in Canada.

Participating Ontario municipalities include Burlington, Hamilton, Oakville, London, Brampton, Orangeville, Ottawa, Kitchener, Kingston, Windsor and Huron-Kinloss.

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