Climate Change Staff - Chatham Kent

The grant-funded staff person will implement initiatives that will produce a lasting improvement in municipal GHG emissions reduction. The first required phase of work is to a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction plan. The plan will update a baseline GHG emissions inventory, set emissions reduction targets, and outline actions to reduce GHG emissions for municipal operations and the community in all areas of municipal activity, including energy use, transportation planning, land use, waste and water management. The second required phase of work for the grant-funded staff person is to implement operational and institutional changes that will help ensure long-term GHG emissions reduction afterthe grant period.The third phase of work will be to carry out the preparatory work to be able to implement climate mitigation projects and the grant-funded staff person is required to move activities from the planning stage to the implementation stage over the course of the grant period.In Year 1 , the Recipient plans toPhase 1 : Bring the Municipality's energy inventories and action plans up-to-date (Milestone Completion of Milestone 3 in the Policy competency)Evaluate and accurately measure energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissionsacross Chatham-KentUpdate current local action plans to reflect the current state of Chatham-KentcommunitiesUpdate and align the Municipality's climate change mitigation targets with existing provincial legislationPhase 2: Moving the Municipality from the GHG emission data collection phase to the planning of the GHG reduction phase (Milestone: Preparation of a comprehensive documented GHG reduction strategy the Municipality can use as a guide in theimplementation phase)Create a Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) Program portfolio for the Municipality of Chatham-Kent and report the Municipality's progress on climate changeMake recommendations on energy efficiency and conservation solutions and implementation strategies for the Corporation of the Municipality of Chatham-KentEnsure the Environmental Review Team (ERT) has received necessary training on climate change mitigationPhase 3: Advocating for GHG reduction in Municipal operations and maintenance (Milestone: Securing the support of the majority of Council and management on climate change mitigation)Educating Council and senior management on the status of the Municipality's GHG emissions and proposed reduction strategyHold public meetings including those for local organizations and community stakeholders regarding the Municipality's plans on climate change mitigationRecommend policies for Council to adopt regarding GHG reduction and energy demand managementStrengthen already-established relationships with utilities for ongoing access to their relevant dataIn Year 2, the Recipient intends toPhase 1 : Enforcing short- and long-term GHG reduction programs (Milestone: Completing Milestone 2 in the human resources and governance competency)Create an excel-based GHG emission calculator customized to the Municipality'sKeep updated GHG emission inventoriesTrack the Municipality's financial expenditures associated with energy consumptionRecommend department-specific programs for GHG reduction needsPhase 2: Enhancing the Municipality's technical capacity to monitor and report GHG emissions (Milestone: Completing Milestone I in the Technical Capacity Competency)Track the Municipality's data sources and assumptions made about available GHG emission dataForecast future GHG emissions based on multiple scenarios: business-as-usual, implementing short-term mitigation programs identified in Phase 1, and implementing both short- and long-term mitigation programs (as associated with the Municipality's operations)Phase 3: Start expanding climate change mitigation strategies to the communities(Milestone: Engaging the public and relevant community groups to advocate for community wide action plans)Recommend policies on community-wide climate change mitigation strategiesEstablish an online program where community members (businesses and residents)may report and track their GHG emissionsPerform public outreach and education through programs such as B2B EnergyMentoring, school outreach initiatives, and the Annual Energy Tradeshow