City of Burlington Taking Action on Climate Change
*Please see below a news release issued by the City of Burlington.
Burlington, Ont. — July 12, 2023 — At the July 11 Council meeting, City staff provided updates on three important environment and energy projects. All reports can be found on burlington.ca/calendar under the June 28 Environment, Infrastructure and Community Services Committee meeting agenda.Climate Resilient Burlington: A Plan for Adapting to Our Warmer, Wetter, Wilder Weather Progress ReportThe Climate Resilient Burlington (CRB) plan includes a 10-year implementation plan with 32 actions being led by staff from eight different City departments.Highlights for the first progress report after one year include:
- Working with and educating the eight City departments responsible for leading the implementation of one of more actions as well as two supporting departments; and
- Creating a CRB implementation team to report on progress and ensure initiatives move forward from the 10-year implementation plan.
The full report, including updates on each of the 32 actions, can be read online at Burlington.ca/calendar.Electric MobilityElectric mobility is identified as a key program area in the Climate Action Plan. This supports Burlington becoming a net carbon zero community by 2050.Highlights from the electric mobility report include:
- 22 new electric vehicle charging stations with 43 plugs on City property across Burlington
- An additional 18 electric vehicle charging stations with 36 plugs are planned for installation over the next two years on City property
- There are 114 total public and private electric vehicle charging stations in Burlington
- 16 per cent of the City’s fleet is electric or hybrid with plans to increase the percentage
The full report can be read online at Burlington.ca/calendar.Corporate Energy and Emissions Management PlanAn update on the Corporate Energy and Emissions Management Plan (CEEMP) was shared. This includes data and measures on energy and greenhouse gas emissions for City operations. This Plan, which was previously approved by Council in July 2019, supports City operations being net carbon neutral by 2040.CEEMP Highlights
- Over the past year, City staff have been working with consultants to perform Deep Energy Retrofit Studies at Appleby Ice Centre, Brant Hills Community Centre, Fire Station 2 and Fire Station 7. These studies will provide pathways to transform each of these buildings into low carbon facilities and provide significant reduction in the City’s operational greenhouse gas emissions. The studies are expected to be complete this summer.
- Solar panels will be installed at Fire Station 5 in Kilbride. The solar panels will be operational later this year. It is estimated that the system will offset slightly more than 100 per cent of the building’s electricity usage. The excess electricity will allow the City to offset heating electrification in the near future.
The full report can be found at Burlington.ca/calendar.For more information on the City’s climate, environmental and sustainability projects, visit burlington.ca/environment.Burlington is a city where people, nature and businesses thrive. Sign up to learn more about Burlington at burlington.ca/subscribe and follow @CityBurlington on social media.
"There is a lot of work going into climate change related initiatives across every department within the City. It’s not just the Environment and Energy team driving it. Taking steps to reduce and electrify our energy and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint along with planning for our changing climate is at the forefront of City projects." -- Lynn Robichaud, Manager of Environmental Sustainability, City of Burlington
Links and Resources: