City of Dauphin Community Energy Plan (CEP)

The City of Dauphin (with a population of 8,457) is developing a Community Energy Plan (CEP) in order to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in their community. The CEP is an important first step towards building a “Net Zero” community in Manitoba, which is a community with greatly reduced energy needs through efficiency gains regarding the use of energy for vehicles, and thermal and electrical energy within the community. The City of Dauphin is a member of FCM’s Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) program and the CEP will follow the PCP methodology in order to achieve milestones 1-3. The CEP will include a baseline GHG emissions inventory, set emissions reduction targets, and outline actions to reduce GHG emissions and energy consumption at both the corporate and community levels. Stakeholder engagement is important in the planning process, and a series of municipal and public consultations will be carried out in the form of meetings and workshops as well as questionnaires for community members. The consultation process will be led by the City of Dauphin and Eco-West Canada and will seek to engage a diverse range of partners and stakeholder groups such as the Dauphin and District Chamber of Commerce, Manitoba Hydro, Dauphin Senior Centre and Friendship Centre. The long-term goal will be to achieve a 'Net Zero' community, and the City of Dauphin and the Eco-West Canada will set specific GHG reduction targets once the baseline inventory is complete, using the methodology in the PCP program. The goal of the CEP is to guide the planning and development of local resources, identify concrete actions to mitigate the threat of damage from climate change, provide the community with a road map for GHG emission reductions, and identify opportunities for more efficient uses of energy as well as easy-to-implement green projects that are tailored to suit the community. Initiatives will include transportation projects, energy efficient buildings, more efficient waste management practices, mitigation of the effects of flooding and erosion and long-term adaptation strategies designed to reduce the risk of climate change. The proposed CEP process will thus be used to identify environmental alternatives and innovative initiatives to stimulate the local economy and reduce municipal operating costs, all based on understanding the sources of GHG emissions and taking steps to reduce them, while at the same time identifying strategies to reduce the risk of climate change-related impacts on the city.