The Town of Sidney is embarking on an initiative to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from local government operations and the community as a whole. This work is being initiated to respond to the urgent need to take action on climate change and to fulfill requirements put in place through recent provincial legislation.

Key to this initiative is the development of a Climate Action Plan (CAP) that will assist the Town in fulfilling its voluntary commitment to the Climate Action Charter, as well as its legislative requirements under Bill 27. In order to assist the Town in establishing a CAP, the consulting services of Stantec Consulting Ltd. have been retained. The focus of their work in creating the plan will consist of two distinct elements: a corporate component and a community component.

Corporate Component:

In order to meet Sidney's voluntary commitment to the Climate Action Charter, which requires that municipal operations be carbon neutral by 2012, the development of the Town's CAP will involve the following:

• Conducting a detailed review and analysis of municipal operations in order to highlight achievable energy savings and GHG emission reductions from municipal facilities, fleet vehicles, infrastructure and waste;
• Proposing appropriate strategies for offsetting the remaining emissions; and
• Determining cost implications for implementing these measures of the CAP.

Community Component:

With the adoption of Bill 27 of the Local Government (Green Communities) Act, all British Columbia local governments are required to include emission reduction targets in their respective Official Community Plans by May 31st, 2010. The Town of Sidney, like many other municipalities in BC, will also be developing policies and actions to meet the targets that are set. As this requirement has community-wide implications, it is often referred to as the community component of the GHG reduction initiative.

The community component of the CAP will require an accurate baseline and a long term projection of emissions from which to plan energy and GHG management activities. Once this is established it can be used as a tool to engage municipal staff, key stakeholders and the broader community in a dialogue around opportunities for climate action.

More information:

Use the links to the left to find out more about Sidney's Climate Action Plan process and about actions that you can take at home to make a difference in our community. The success of the Town's GHG reduction program ultimately depends on the level of commitment shown by our community.