Hamilton Community Climate Change Action Plan

The final Hamilton Community Climate Change Action Plan is now available for viewing! The Plan goes before Hamilton City Council in October 2015.

The Community Climate Change Action Plan outlines an approach to address climate change by the Hamilton community. It is organized into nine themes that have emerged as important areas to focus to address climate change locally -.Agriculture and Food, Awareness and Education, Infrastructure, Energy, Land Use, Buildings and Built Form, Local Economy and Business, People and Health, Transportation and Mobility, and Water and Natural Ecosystems.

Over fifteen months of engagement with the Hamilton community and hard work from members of the Community Climate Change Action Plan Task Forces and Steering Committee have helped identifying actions and opportunities that both encourage reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in our community and outline ways to adapt to expected changes from climate change.

The Plan cannot be implemented by one organization alone; it requires collaboration amongst multiple organizations and ongoing partnerships. Ongoing efforts will be required to continually work towards achieving the GHG reduction targets – 80% by 2050 and preparing the community for climate change.

This hard work and effort has resulted in Hamilton’s first Community Climate Change Action Plan! You can read the Final Plan and accompanying background of the economic assessment of actions as well as individual actions (What Can I Do?) below.

Climate Change Action Plan PDFs:

Final Hamilton Community Climate Change Action Plan

The Economic Impact of Climate Action Priorities

Appendix A: Climate Change 101 – Hamilton

Appendix B: Additional Opportunities

Taking Action – What Can I Do?

Eight Task Forces

  1. Agriculture and Food
  2. Awareness and Education
  3. Infrastructure
  4. Energy
  5. Land Use, Buildings and Built Form
  6. Local Economy and Business
  7. Transportation and Mobility
  8. Water and Natural Ecosystems

Task Force members have contributed to the development of 10 Priority Actions, an overarching goal statement for their theme and have identified a number of actions that can be undertaken in the short, medium and long-term to help us transition from the present-state (current condition) to the end-state (achieving our goals).

10 Priority Actions

  1. Support local food production/consumption and integrate climate change mitigation/adaptation strategies into existing farm and food plans and initiatives
  2. Establish ongoing education and awareness program/campaign for climate change
  3. Develop a Community Energy Plan to guide the Hamilton community’s energy future
  4. Revise and update municipal infrastructure guidelines to prioritize Low Impact Development (LID) as a preferred method for stormwater management
  5. Establish variable development charges to reflect real costs of buildings and maintaining infrastructure
  6. Create an accessible toolkit for businesses to assist with impact analysis and business continuity planning
  7. Conduct a local community vulnerability assessment of public health impacts from climate change
  8. Expand public transit services to include dedicated rapid transit lanes where possible
  9. Secure property that serves as source water storage or preserves wildlife corridors within the catchment
  10. Establish an ongoing oversight and coordination body to guide implementation of the Hamilton Climate Change Action Plan and report back on community progress and success

 

To learn more about the plan, click here.