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Recent News

The Ontario Resource Centre for Climate Adaptation Has Launched

The new Ontario Resource Centre for Climate Adaptation (ORCCA) was launched at the Livable Cities Forum on September 25, 2023. ORCCA is the newest addition to a growing network of climate service organizations across Canada including the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, Ouranos, ClimateWest, and CLIMAtlantic. ORCCA is a pilot initiative led by ICLEI Canada to help Great Lakes and Ontario communities, local governments, organizations, and businesses integrate climate information into their planning and decision-making. The Centre helps users access both historical and future climate data, offers training and guidance to understand climate change, and helps translate and communicate technical climate data. 

The 2022-2023 PCP Insights Report is Now Available

You think you know all there is to know about the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) Program – but have you seen this year’s brand new Insights Report? This year, we celebrated widespread adoption of best practices such as fleet electrification, building retrofit programs, and waste diversion strategies. We also highlighted some of the more novel, ambitious, and innovative approaches to climate action and reflected on some of the emerging trends we are seeing in policy innovation, net-zero targets, nature-based solutions, and EDI.

The N-ZAP Survey is Closed But Municipalities Can Still Get Involved

A big thank you to all the 250+ municipal staff that completed the N-ZAP survey. The survey is now closed, but there are still many ways to get involved in the Municipal Net-Zero Action Research Partnership (N-ZAP) as we study and create improved methods for how local governments monitor, measure and reduce local GHG emissions. N-ZAP is recruiting Canadian municipalities to participate as pilot cities or case study subjects. Interested in getting involved? Sign-up to express interest in becoming a pilot city and remain in touch with the project.

The GCOM Canada Implementation Cohort is Accepting Applications

Does your municipality have a bold climate target and a plan of action to help meet it? Are you in the implementation phase of your journey, facing the challenge of implementing your mitigation and/or adaptation policies and projects? If you could use some support on this journey, we invite you to join the GCOM Canada Implementation Cohort. Convened by ICLEI Canada and supported by the European Commission and the GCOM Americas, we will work together to identify your implementation challenges and devise strategies to tackle them head-on. Be sure to get your application in by the October 27, 2023 due date.

The 2023 Livable Cities Forum Was a Great Success

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Mississauga last month for the 2023 Livable Cities Forum! More than 300 local leaders, urban professionals, and on-the-ground practitioners from across Canada came together to explore how to build net-zero, resilient, equitable, and livable communities through the lens of “Intention to Implementation”. We will soon be sharing insights that emerged from the Forum. In the meantime, speaker presentations are available online.

Exciting Projects in the Works!

Financing Resilient Infrastructure Project (FRIP)

Despite the strong economic case for investing in climate adaptation, public funds are limited. Given the accelerating changes in our climate and the multi-billion-dollar loss events communities across Canada have recently experienced, a whole-of-society approach — where private investors work alongside all levels of government — is needed to achieve the scale and speed of construction required.

We are currently working in partnership with Co-operators and 10 Canadian municipalities to develop resilient infrastructure project profiles that private investors could help realize. To date, we have held several project planning meetings with municipal staff from climate, finance, and engineering/public departments to shortlist projects and possible financing mechanisms. Once completed, results will be shared to help other municipalities identify finance-ready resilient infrastructure projects in their communities.

Stay tuned for more information or contact us to learn more about the project.

Cost of Doing Nothing Reports

To assess the costs of investing in climate action, local decision-makers need to weigh the costs of action versus inaction but rarely have the time and resources needed to do so. While the CODN Toolbox provides all the resources needed to write a CODN report and make a business case for adaptation, it does require staff time and capacity, as well as a good understanding of local adaptation processes.

Our team is currently working with several municipalities across Canada to develop custom CODN reports using the CODN Toolbox as part of a cohort. Once completed, the reports will be ready to share internally, with Council members, and/or with community members to support adaptation planning at the municipal level.

Would your municipality be interested in working with us to develop a CODN report? Contact us to express your interest in future CODN opportunities.

Upcoming Events

Get to Know ORCCA

The Ontario Resource Centre on Climate Adaptation (ORCCA) was recently launched to help Great Lakes and Ontario communities integrate climate information into their planning and decision-making. Join us on Wednesday November 1, 2023 from 1:00 to 2:00 pm EST to get to know ORCCA! Learn more about the Centre’s services during this online session where you can ask questions, learn about the ORCCA Resource Library and Support Desk, and discover how these resources can support your local adaptation work.

From Our Network: Save the Date! How to Build Local Climate Partnerships

As part of its collaborative climate efforts at the municipal level, the Trottier Family Foundation is pleased to invite you to a webinar to present a new resource on how to build local climate partnerships based on their experience with the Montreal Climate Partnership. Join us Tuesday November 28, 2023 from 12:00 to 1:00 pm EST to learn more, get access to the resource, and hear how ICLEI Canada will be working with four Canadian municipalities to create local climate partnerships in their communities. Please email Jean-Patrick Toussaint at the Trottier Family Foundation (jptoussaint@trottierfoundation.com) by Friday November 24, 2023 to RSVP. We are looking forward to welcoming you to this event!

From Our Global Network: ICLEI World Congress 2024 Webinar

ICLEI members: Would you like to attend the 2024 ICLEI World Congress in São Paulo, Brazil? Start planning your participation! Every three years, the ICLEI World Congress allows ICLEI Members and partners to get together, exchange and showcase how local and regional governments are advancing sustainable urban development worldwide. ICLEI members are invited to attend a webinar Thursday October 26, 2023 from 10:00 to 11:00 am EST to learn more about what is in store at the 2024 World Congress.

Welcome to the team!

Maria Dasios, Operations Manager

Maria joined as Operations Manager in September and works with the whole team across a variety of disciplines including office administration, executive assistance, human resources management, business management and policy development and implementation. Thanks to her fifteen years of combined experience in multi-disciplinary research, knowledge translation, teaching, facilitation, project management, grant writing, and event coordination, she has been able to hit the ground running!

Naomi Wolfe, Climate Change Project Coordinator

Naomi is our newest Climate Change Project Coordinator. She also joined our team in September to work on projects that build social and community resilience and support the development of resources — something she knows quite a bit about. In her previous role with the Healthy Communities Initiative, she worked with over 1,000 projects, partner organizations, and community leaders to develop a network of placemakers and community builders committed to enhancing the public space landscape.

Ariane Mooney, Climate Project Assistant

As Climate Change Project Assistant, Ariane (or Ari) supports the Adaptation Team at ICLEI Canada with her formidable research skills and natural knack for effective project planning and implementation. She has been working with the team to develop tools and resources, plan and coordinate events, and support communications since September. Before that, Ari garnered valuable experience as an Environmental Outreach Student at the City of Mississauga and in her role as an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Research Student.

Julia Gavieta, Climate Change Assistant Intern

Julia is a fifth-year Honors Bachelor of Arts at the University of Toronto who is working with us this fall to develop climate change communication products to support local governments while pursuing a specialty in Political Science and a Minor in Environmental Studies. As an aspiring social science researcher, her interests lie in environmental policymaking, intergovernmental relations, and data organization.

Stay tuned to meet more team members and for job opportunities as we continue to expand our team!

Where we’ve been

Innovate4Cities Global Marketplace Opening Plenary

Our Executive Director, Megan Meaney, joined the opening plenary for the GCOM’s first-of-its-kind Innovate4Cities Global Marketplace October 10, 2023  to talk about N-ZAP as an example of local governments and academia working together to support local #ClimateAction.

Adaptation Futures 2023

Our Managing Director, Ewa Jackson, took part in four sessions during Adaptation Futures earlier this month: Incentivizing Equitable Adaptation: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Advancing Collaborative Climate Adaptation: Lessons Learned from a Municipal and First Nations Adaptation Project (led by ICLEI Canada), Climate Risk Mapping to Advance Equitable Climate Action, and Advancing Digital Climate Adaptation Platforms to Develop a Climate-Ready Workforce. 

Reach us

Contact us to learn more about our  network, services, and events.

ICLEI Canada

401 Richmond St W (Suite 204)
Toronto, ON M5V 3A8

iclei-canada@iclei.org

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