Climate Protection Working Group

The purpose of the Climate Protection Working Group (CPWG) is to provide advice and recommendations to Council to assist in the development of the Town’s Climate Action Plan. The CPWG strives to support the Town’s goal of lowering the community-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in accordance with the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) 5-Step Milestone. The CPWG also strives to help the Town improve the community’s ability to cope better with and adapt to the local impacts of climate change events.

Climate Action Plan

One of the CPWG's mandates is to assist and guide the development of a Climate Action Plan. This plan would set out a path forward and strategy for the Town (both the municipal corporation and the community at large) to reduce our GHG emissions and make ourselves more resilient to climate-related natural events such as floods and droughts. The Plan will outline a series of measurable actions that will allow us to reach the GHG emission reduction targets that Council will set.

Partners for Climate Protection Milestones

The Town, as a member of the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP), has committed to the five-step Milestone Framework, which is a guide to help the Town of Smiths Falls act on climate change by reducing municipal emissions.

Milestone 1: Create a greenhouse gas emissions inventory. (Completed)

Milestone 2: Set an emissions reduction target. (Where we are now)

Milestone 3: Develop a local action plan.

Milestone 4: Implement the local action plan or set of activities.

Milestone 5: Monitor progress and report results.

Milestone 2 (Underway)

Work on Milestone 2—setting emission reduction targets for the Climate Action Plan—is already underway. These targets define the amount of greenhouse gas emissions our municipal government aims to reduce through a range of measures that will be detailed in the Climate Action Plan. Emission reduction targets are established for both corporate operations (the Town as a municipal corporation) and the broader community. Setting these targets demonstrates Council’s commitment to addressing climate change and forms the foundation for developing the Climate Action Plan.

Upcoming Public Engagement Events

Focus Group - August 6th - 5-7 pm at Town Hall in Council Chmabers
Community Visioning Event - August 19th - 5-7 pm at Town Hall in Council Chambers

To help develop the Climate Action Plan, we're excited to invite you to two upcoming events at Town Hall in the Council Chambers. The Focus Group and the Community Visioning Event are great opportunities for residents to share their ideas on building a more sustainable and resilient community. We look forward to your participation and ideas!

Milestone 1 (Completed)

The first milestone in creating a Climate Action plan is creating a baseline emissions inventory so that we know where we are presently. This baseline is the marker against which all future progress toward lowering emissions is measured. Milestone 1 also contains a 10-year Business-as-Usual (BAU) forecast that shows how the Town's emissions would change in the future if no action were taken. Completing Milestone 1 sets the Climate Action Plan in motion, with the end goal of lowering the community’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate Action Plan Milestone 2 Survey - Update

Participating in the five-step Milestone Framework, the Town is developing a Climate Action Plan, a multi-year strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Smiths Falls, with the help of the Climate Protection Working Group (CPWG). The data collected from this survey will inform Milestone 2 of the 5-step Milestone Framework, bringing us one step closer to creating a Climate Action Plan. The survey has now closed. Stay tuned for a "What We Heard" report on the survey results. In the meantime, please read the staff report, CPWG Report No. 2025-01 - Q2 Survey Results summaraizing the preliminary results.