Kingston Selected for Climate Change Pilot Program

Published on: 2019/11/06 - in Releases

RELEASE — The City of Kingston has been selected to join the first Showcase Cities cohort led by the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) Canada. As a member of this cohort, over the next year Kingston will receive intensive support to help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapt to climate change.

Municipalities are on the front lines of climate change, and through this pilot project which includes technical support, training, exclusive networking opportunities and access to tools and resources, Kingston will advance its ambitious climate action objectives.

“As a City, we are committed to demonstrating leadership on climate action. The support we receive from the Global Covenant of Mayors will help us identify opportunities to reduce our GHG emissions, and better leverage current initiatives,” says Mayor Bryan Paterson. “This is a great opportunity and it’s an honour to be among the 25 showcase cities from across Canada taking part in this initiative,” he adds.

Municipalities are leading the way on low-carbon solutions — from building retrofits to green transit fleets. And with municipalities influencing half of Canada’s GHG emissions, scaling up local solutions is key to meeting Canada’s climate targets. As a participant in the GCoM Showcase Cities, the City of Kingston will be a part of this ‘best practice’ climate change community, gaining knowledge and internal capacity, while developing ambitious climate change mitigation and adaptation objectives.

The Global Covenant of Mayors Canada is a collaboration between FCM, ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, the Global Covenant of Mayors Secretariat and the International Urban Cooperation Project supported by funding from the European Union.

“Together we are creating ambitious plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and preparing our communities for the impacts of a changing climate,” said Megan Meaney, Executive Director of the Canada office of ICLEI.

The initiative combines two leading domestic climate programs, the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) program and Building Adaptive and Resilient Communities (BARC), with the leading global climate program. The GCoM Canada is piloting this approach, which will build on FCM and ICLEI’s more than 25 years’ experience in delivering climate change programs in Canada.


Release: City of Kingston
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Laslovarga (cc)