Climate Protection Working Group

The purpose of the Climate Protection Working Group (CPWG) is to provide advice and recommendations to Council to assist in the development of the Town’s Climate Action Plan. The CPWG strives to support the Town’s goal of lowering the community-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in accordance with the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) 5-Step Milestones. The CPWG also strives to help the Town improve the community’s ability to cope better with and adapt to the local impacts of climate change events.

Climate Action Plan

One of the CPWG's mandates is to assist and guide the development of a Climate Action Plan. This plan would set out a path forward and strategy for the Town (both the municipal corporation and the community at large) to reduce our GHG emissions and make ourselves more resilient to climate-related natural events such as floods and droughts. The Plan will outline a series of measurable actions that will allow us to reach the GHG emission reduction targets that Council will set.

Partners for Climate Protection Milestones

The Town, as a member of the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP), has committed to the five-step Milestone Framework, which is a guide to help the Town of Smiths Falls act on climate change by reducing municipal emissions.

Milestone 1: Create a greenhouse gas emissions inventory. (Completed)

Milestone 2: Set an emissions reduction target. (Where we are now)

Milestone 3: Develop a local action plan.

Milestone 4: Implement the local action plan or set of activities.

Milestone 5: Monitor progress and report results.

Milestone 1 (Completed)

The first milestone in creating a Climate Action plan is creating a baseline emissions inventory so that we know where we are presently. This baseline is the marker against which all future progress toward lowering emissions is measured. Milestone 1 also contains a 10-year Business-as-Usual (BAU) forecast that shows how the Town's emissions would change in the future if no action were taken. Completing Milestone 1 sets the Climate Action Plan in motion, with the end goal of lowering the community’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The next step would be to embark on Milestone 2, setting the emission reduction targets for the Climate Action Plan. The emission reduction targets specify the quantity of emissions our municipal government aims to reduce through various emissions reduction measures that will be outlined in the Climate Action Plan. Emissions reduction targets are set for both the corporate (the Town as a municipal corporation) and the Community, and they represent the Council’s commitment to achieving our climate change objectives. This sets the basis for developing the Climate Action Plan.