Northern Bruce Peninsula (Image from Northern Bruce Peninsula council presentation)
Northern Bruce Peninsula Council is adopting a new Climate Action Plan.
During a council meeting on May 9, council was brought an action plan by the municipal climate action committee.
The municipality says the plan will act as a roadmap for climate action decision making and priority setting in the area over the next eight years, while also setting corporate and community greenhouse gas reduction targets.
“The Plan outlines ambitious yet practical targets for Northern Bruce Peninsula to achieve over the remainder of this decade to reduce emissions and prepare for the impacts of climate change. It includes five pillars, thirty initiatives, and a variety of specific actions that in combination will help us achieve these ambitious targets while also enhancing the quality of life on the Peninsula,” says the committee.
The plan covers five areas of action in the municipality, including cutting consumption, electrifying everything, wiping out waste, nurturing nature, and protecting the peninsula.
Cutting consumption will focus on reducing the energy people consume at home, work or on the road and include energy efficiency investments, policy changes, and new behaviors geared to reducing energy demand. The municipality says, the goal is to have 50 per cent of residents and businesses report to have taken at least one action to reduce their consumption by 2030.
Electrifying everything looks at reducing local use of fossil fuels for heating and transportation. The municipality says it also includes education on new electric options and eliminating the barriers to their eventual adoption. This comes with a goal of having 40 per cent of vehicles in the peninsula be electric by 2030, and to have 25 per cent of propane or oil buildings be converted by that point as well.
The wiping out waste section of the plan focuses on reducing waste and promoting recycling. The municipality says new programs and policies will be introduced to encourage waste diversion. The goal is to have a 50 per cent reduction in household organic waste entering landfills by 2030.
The nurturing nature action will be geared to improve or maintain the health of local ecosystems, including agricultural and natural. The municipality says the initiatives part of this action will build upon years of conservation work by local farmers, community groups, and all levels of government. The goal for this action will be to have 75 per cent of farms participate in at least one sustainability or climate-related initiative by 2030.
The protecting the peninsula actions focus on increasing the area’s resilience against the impact of climate change. The municipality says the goal is for 100 per cent inclusion of climate change projections in municipal emergency planning, design standards and operation plan by 2030.
Mayor Milt McIver says the action plan demonstrates the municipality’s commitment and readiness to tackle the challenges of climate change at the local level.
“I encourage all residents of the municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula to review the Climate Change Action plan and thank the highly skilled committee for their outstanding work,” says McIver.
The plan can be found on the lets talk Northern Bruce Peninsula website.