Media Release: Stratford Announces Updates to Community Energy Plan (June 1, 2023)
For Immediate Release: June 1, 2023
The Town of Stratford has reached a major milestone in the implementation of its Community Energy Plan, having achieved milestone 4 of the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) program. This program is a network of over 500 Canadian municipal governments committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting the climate. The Town of Stratford is progressing through PCP’s five-step Milestone Framework, having just met Milestone 4 in 2022. To help track and monitor emissions reduction progress, today Stratford has also released its 2021 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory report.
Stratford’s Community Energy Plan was first adopted by council in 2017 with a goal of reducing energy costs, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the use of renewable resources. Participation in the PCP program is assisting with these goals and Stratford is proud to be the first municipality in PEI to have reached milestone 4. The program provides municipalities with tools and a standardized emissions framework which allows for the consistent tracking of greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption between communities.
“This is a great day for Stratford,” remarked Stratford Mayor Steve Ogden. “We are proud of our community and the legacy that we hope we are creating for future generations, though we recognize that there is much more that collectively we must all do. Climate change won’t be solved by just one person making a change, or one community, but it is a great place to start, and somewhere that each of us have the power to do something. Together, one change at a time, we can and are making a difference.”
The Town’s release of the 2021 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory report shows that in 2021, Stratford produced a total of 85,358 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) emissions. This is 8.7% lower than the 93,517 tCO2e emitted in 2015. As well, data shows that in 2021, corporate emissions totaled 761 tCO2e, that’s 19.6% lower than the 946 tCO2e produced in 2015. Stratford is currently on track to meet, and likely exceed, the emissions reduction targets set by the 2015 Community Energy Plan of community emission reductions of 6% and corporate emission reductions of 20% of the 2015 levels, before the 2026 goal. The next step for the Town of Stratford is to set new targets for the future.
“As a community, there is more we can do,” added Gordie Cox, Chair of the Town’s Sustainability Committee. “We now want to push ourselves even more to set more aggressive targets and begin to work towards them. As our community grows, this becomes more of a challenge to realize but we are up for the challenge, and we know that we have to do the hard work for the future we want for our children, grandchildren and beyond.”
About the PCP program
The Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) program is managed and delivered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI Canada). Since 1994, PCP has provided municipalities of all sizes with the tools, resources and guidance they need to progress through a five-milestone process to lower GHG emissions and reduce the impacts of climate change. The Town of Stratford has been a member since 2008.
Milestone 1 — Create a baseline emissions inventory and forecast
Milestone 2 — Set emissions reduction targets
Milestone 3 — Develop a community energy plan
Milestone 4 — Implement the community energy plan
Milestone 5 — Monitor progress and report results
There are PCP members in all provinces and territories, and member municipalities represent more than 70% of the Canadian population. PCP receives financial support from the Government of Canada and ICLEI Canada.
As a member of the PCP program, the Town of Stratford is among other municipal governments across Canada taking a leadership role and significantly contributing to reducing Canada’s overall GHG emissions. In 2018, PCP member municipalities voluntarily reported over 160 projects to reduce GHG emissions. These projects represent over 720,000 tonnes in annual GHG reductions — equivalent to taking over 150,000 passenger vehicles off the road for a year. Along with reducing the impacts of climate change, municipalities saw other community benefits and savings, including $2.88 million in annual cost savings generated by reducing emissions from streetlights and municipally owned vehicles and buildings.
The 2021 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory report is available on the Town of Stratford website along with other relevant documents on the
Community Energy Plan page.
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For more information please contact:
Wendy Watts, Community and Business Engagement Manager
Phone: (902) 569-1995
Email:
[email protected]
Federation of Canadian Municipalities Media Relations
Phone: (613) 907-6395
Email:
[email protected]
Links:
Partners for Climate Protection: https://www.pcp-ppc.ca/
Federation of Canadian Municipalities: https://fcm.ca/
ICLEI Canada: http://www.icleicanada.org/
Printable version:
Media Release - Stratford Announces Updates to Community Energy Plan (June 1, 2023)