Close Alert Banner
Skip to Content

Municipality of West Grey Site Logo Municipality of West Grey Site Logo

  • Services iconServices
    • A to Z services
    • Accessibility
    • Animal services
    • Applications, licences and permits
    • Cemeteries
    • Emergency services
    • Facility and hall rentals
    • Garbage and recycling
    • Home and property
    • Online payments
    • Parks and recreation
    • Property taxes
    • Roads and sidewalks
    • Water and sewer services
  • Discover iconDiscover
    • Arts and culture
    • Campgrounds
    • Community event calendar
    • Community groups
    • Community services
    • Facility and hall rentals
    • Health care and wellness
    • History and heritage
    • Library
    • Municipal airport
    • Parks and recreation
    • Places of worship
    • Schools and education
    • Visit West Grey
    • Volunteering
  • Invest iconInvest
    • Advertising, partnerships and sponsorships
    • Available properties
    • Bids and tenders
    • Building and construction
    • Careers
    • Community improvement plan
    • Economic development
    • Municipal airport
    • Planning and development
  • Government iconGovernment
    • Agendas and minutes
    • Applications, licences and permits
    • Bids and tenders
    • Budget and financial statements
    • By-laws and policies
    • Climate change action plan
    • Commissioner of oaths
    • Committees and boards
    • Contact us
    • Council
    • Elections
    • Freedom of information
    • News and notices
    • Plans, reports and studies

I Want To...

Apply and register text

Apply and register

  • Bids and tenders
  • Building permits
  • Community Improvement Plan
  • Dog tag licences
  • Preauthorized payments
Learn about text

Learn about

  • Garbage and recycling
  • Job opportunities
  • Official Plan review
  • Parks and recreation
  • West Grey council
 text

Get involved

  • Agendas and minutes
  • Community event calendar
  • Join a committee
  • Report a concern
  • Watch council meetings
Contact Us

Clouds

Climate change action plan

HomeGovernmentClimate change action plan
  • Open new window to share this page via Facebook Facebook
  • Open new window to share this page via Twitter Twitter
  • Open new window to share this page via LinkedIn LinkedIn
  • Email this page Email

Joining hundreds of communities across Canada, West Grey is taking measures to address the causes of climate change locally through the development of a Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP). The CCAP will establish a strategic and comprehensive set of actions to effectively manage energy consumption, transition to low-carbon technologies, and reduce solid waste across our municipal operations and facilities. Developing a CCAP will help our municipality become more energy efficient, save on the cost of energy, and contribute to the overall health of our community.

Background on climate change 

Climate change refers to the long-term shifts in temperature and weather patterns that occur due to natural changes of incoming solar radiation reaching the Earth’s surface as well as the alterations to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from both natural and anthropogenic origins. Since the industrial era, human activity has led to an increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and as a result, the average global temperature has increased by approximately 1.1°C. To prevent the most catastrophic impacts of climate change the global community committed to limiting warming to 1.5°C and no more than 2°C with the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015.

The impacts of climate change are being witnessed around the globe and across our country, with more intense and extreme weather events, including flooding, forest fires, droughts, and heatwaves. Limiting global warming to 1.5°C will reduce the impacts to our health, livelihoods, infrastructure, economic growth, and the safety of our own community as well as those across Canada. 

Climate change adaptation and mitigation

Climate adaptation refers to the measures that we can take to become more resilient to the impacts of climate change felt in our communities. These measures could include improving physical infrastructure to better withstand more intense and frequent precipitation, collaborating with farmers to plan for increased droughts, or implementing policies to protect our most vulnerable populations during periods of intense heat, for example.

Climate mitigation refers to the measures that we can take to limit the causes of climate change by reducing the amount of greenhouse gases that are added to the atmosphere as well as enhancing mechanisms that remove these gases from the atmosphere. This could include implementing strategies to manage and conserve the energy we use, switching to low carbon technologies and sources of energy, or reducing the amount of waste that ends up in landfills. 

What is a corporate Climate Change Action Plan? 
Climate change action plans are a way for municipalities to manage both the causes and effects of climate change in their communities and across their municipal operations. In 2019, Grey County began work on developing a community-wide mitigation plan in consultation with member municipalities. The County’s plan considers several different sectors, including buildings, transportation, waste, agriculture, land-use, and renewable energy. To learn more about Grey County’s community-wide plan, visit Grey County Climate Change Action Plan. As a complement to the community-wide plan at the County level, the West Grey Climate Change Action Plan will focus on our corporate operations and facilities and establish mitigation strategies to reduce emissions from our buildings, vehicle fleet, streetlighting, and landfills. 

How is the plan being developed?

In consultation with ICLEI Canada – Local Governments for Sustainability, West Grey began the process of developing the CCAP in the fall of 2021. The planning process commenced with a comprehensive greenhouse gas emissions inventory, energy and emissions mapping, and business-as-usual projection for the municipality.

West Grey has also joined the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and ICLEI Canada’s Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) program. The program currently has over 450 member municipalities across Canada who are working toward implementing climate action in their communities and across their municipal operations. The program offers support to members in municipal climate planning and follows a five-milestone framework which includes the following planning process:

Milestone 1 – Create a baseline emissions inventory and forecast.
Milestone 2 – Set emissions reductions targets.
Milestone 3 – Develop and local action plan.
Milestone 4 – Implement the local action plan.
Milestone 5 – Monitor progress and report results

Next steps in the development of the plan will be to establish an emissions reduction target and identify short- and long-term goals and strategies that will enable West Grey to meet its target. The final plan is expected to be completed in the spring of 2022 and will include an opportunity for public engagement and feedback. The completed plan will satisfy the requirements for the PCP program’s Milestone 1-3, with Milestones 4-5 to be achieved over the next few years.

What benefits will the CCAP achieve? 

Through the development of a climate change action plan, West Grey will be demonstrating leadership on climate action to our community and beyond. Our plan will see many additional benefits, as we assess how energy is consumed in our facilities, we will be able to identify effective measures to increase energy efficiency and save on the costs of energy that power our buildings. Transitioning our vehicle fleet over the coming years to low and zero carbon vehicles will help us save on maintenance and fuel costs while contributing to the overall air quality and health of our community.

Climate actions implemented across West Grey, through the County’s community-wide plan will also have many benefits to the community, including creating new jobs and encouraging economic growth, reducing the cost of energy to residents and businesses, encouraging healthy lifestyles by supporting access to active transportation routes, enhancing and expanding our natural areas through conservation and land-use planning, and improving air quality by moving towards less polluting energy sources.

This page will be updated periodically with information on the development of the plan, meeting summaries, and opportunities for public engagement. Stay informed about the plan by following our social media channels and joining our newsletter here.

Government
  • Climate change action plan
  • Close full Government menu
    Toggle Section
    • Agendas and minutes
    • Applications, licences and permits
    • Bids and tenders
    • Budget and financial statements
    • By-laws and policies
    • Commissioner of oaths
    • Committees and boards
    • Contact us
      Toggle Section Contact us Menu
      • By-law enforcement
      • Disclaimer and terms of use
      • Formal complaints
      • Report a concern
    • Council
      Toggle Section Council Menu
      • Accountability and transparency
      • Agendas and minutes
      • Invite the mayor
      • Speaking before council
      • Watch council meetings
      • Past councils of West Grey
    • Elections
      Toggle Section Elections Menu
      • Voters
      • Candidates
      • Who is Running?
      • Key Dates
      • Third Party Advertisers
      • Learn more about the election
      • Election Results
    • Freedom of information
    • News and notices
      Toggle Section News and notices Menu
      • Newsletters
      • Service disruptions
      • Subscribe
    • Plans, reports and studies

Contact us

Subscribe to this page
  • Applications, licences and permits

  • Animal services

  • Garbage and recycling

  • Emergency services

  • Parks and recreation

  • Contact us

Municipality of West Grey footer logo

Address

Municipality of West Grey
402813 Grey Road 4
RR2 Durham, ON N0G 1R0

Call us

Phone: 519-369-2200
Toll free: 1-800-538-9647
Email us

Office Hours

8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. 
Monday to Friday
Contact us

Follow Us

View our Facebook Page View our Twitter Page

© 2021 West Grey

A to Z servicesAccessibilityDisclaimer and terms of useFreedom of informationSitemapWebsite feedbackNewsroomReport a concern
Close Old Browser Notification
Browser Compatibility Notification
It appears you are trying to access this site using an outdated browser. As a result, parts of the site may not function properly for you. We recommend updating your browser to its most recent version at your earliest convenience.