Hamilton Community Climate Change Action Plan

Building on its Corporate Strategic Air Quality and Climate Change Plan, adopted in 2008, the City of Hamilton will develop a Community Climate Change Action Plan (CCCAP) in order to meet the requirements for milestone 3 of the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) Milestone Framework. Hamilton’s CCCAP will use the information provided by the community greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory that was carried out in 2009, as well as the community’s new emissions reduction targets set in 2014, to help set out the community actions required to reduce community contributions to climate change, as well as prepare the community for the likely impacts of climate change. The Hamilton Community CCAP will focus on the integration of both climate mitigation and climate adaptation measures, working with the community and organizations to identify and integrate actions in both areas. The plan is supported by the City of Hamilton's 2012 - 2015 Strategic Plan, as well as existing plans around land use, transportation, water, wastewater, waste management, energy and brownfields, and aims to reach a goal of 80% GHG reduction of 2006 community levels by 2050. The development of the plan will follow a collaborative stakeholder-driven process, consisting of a multi-stakeholder Steering Committee and eight Task Force groups, to provide overall project direction and help focus discussions in the key cross-sector theme areas that are imperative to the plan. The general public and additional stakeholders will also be consulted through a public awareness campaign which will include an action planning forum and various public events. The “Top 10” measures emerging out of the planning process will be evaluated in depth to quantify their impacts in terms of environmental, social and economic benefits. Implementation of the Community CCAP is expected to improve quality of life for residents through better air quality, more resilient neighborhoods, as well as through a sense of community empowerment and preparedness. The public engagement process and resources produced during the learning process could provide knowledge sharing opportunities both locally and nationally. (Project description from original funding application)