Climate Change Mitigation Business Plan

The City of Saskatoon is currently developing a Climate Change Mitigation Business Plan that will directly outline how the City of Saskatoon can meet their short- and long-term greenhouse gas reduction targets. The City’s targets include reducing corporate emissions by 40% and community emissions by 15% below the 2014 benchmark by 2023, and reducing both corporate and community emissions by 80% below the 2014 benchmark by 2050. The Climate Change Mitigation Business Plan aligns with the City of Saskatoon's obligation with the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions over a prescribed timeline. The Business Plan aligns with the City of Saskatoon’s Strategic Plan (2013-2023), specifically the strategic goals of Environmental Leadership and Asset and Financial Sustainability, as mitigation efforts relate directly to operational efficiencies and the effects of a Federal carbon levy. The development of the Business Plan, which follows the completion of a detailed greenhouse gas emissions inventory in 2014 using the GPC Protocol (Basic +) and the adoption of new emissions-reduction targets, is expected to fulfill Milestone 3 of Climate Protection Program (PCP). The 2009 Energy and Greenhouse Gas Management Plan is being revised based on the results of the new Inventory. The City is in the process of updating its progress toward the recommendations of the local action plan and recently updated its corporate and community GHG inventories. Fulfillment of PCP’s Milestones 4 and 5 are anticipated in 2018, as the Business Plan is completed.The Plan will provide an outline of the current state of emissions, from a local and provincial context, as well as outline how action (or inaction) on climate change could affect residents and businesses in the community. The role of the City to facilitate community and corporate greenhouse gas emissions reductions will be identified, alongside recommended plans, policies, programs, pilot projects, and infrastructure investments that will achieve emissions reductions. Development of the plan will involve the community and other stakeholders through engagement activities. The Climate Change Mitigation Business Plan is particularly important for the City of Saskatoon in order to provide a roadmap to meeting mitigation activities. Saskatoon is relatively new to the idea of creating a community that engages in mitigation activities in an economically feasible way. The Business Plan will provide options for the larger community to do their part in contributing solutions to a global issue.