Climate Change Master Plan
The Climate Change Master Plan is the City’s overarching framework to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and respond to the current and future effects of climate change.
The plan aims to take unprecedented collective action to transition Ottawa into a clean, renewable and resilient city by 2050. City Council has adopted short, mid, and long-term greenhouse gas reduction targets based on 2012 levels:
- Reduce emissions from the community by:
- 43 per cent by 2025
- 68 per cent by 2030
- 96 per cent by 2040
- 100 per cent by 2050
- Reduce emissions from City operations by:
- 30 per cent by 2025
- 50 per cent by 2030
- 100 per cent by 2040
Guiding Principles
The Climate Change Master Plan is guided by the following principles:
- Responsibility - everyone has a responsibility to manage energy consumption and to mitigate risks
- Collaboration – all levels of government, utilities, stakeholders, and the broader community must work together to effect change and develop joint solutions
- Municipal leadership – the City needs to take a lead role to ensure an integrated and comprehensive approach across the corporation and the community
- Coordination – all the City’s long-term plans need to be coordinated to ensure a strategic and harmonized approach
- Equity and inclusion – all decision-making processes must incorporate equity and inclusion considerations
Priority Actions
The Climate Change Master Plan identifies eight priority actions for the next five years (2020-2025):
- Implement Energy Evolution
- Undertake a climate vulnerability assessment and develop a climate resiliency strategy
- Apply a climate lens to the new Official Plan and its supporting documents
- Apply a climate lens to asset management and capital projects
- Establish a carbon budget and accounting framework and explore the feasibility of including embodied carbon
- Explore carbon sequestration methods and the role of green infrastructure
- Encourage community action though education, incentives, support and advocacy to senior levels of government
- Develop a governance framework to coordinate stakeholder efforts and mobilize the community
Reporting
Staff provide an annual status update on corporate and community greenhouse gas emissions, progress towards the targets and the eight priority actions to the Standing Committee on Environmental Protection, Water and Waste Management.
- 2023 Climate Change Master Plan Progress Report [ 1.754 MB ]
- 2021 Climate Change Master Plan status update
- 2020 Climate Change Master Plan status update
Staff will develop key performance indicators to further track progress being made to achieve Ottawa’s greenhouse gas reduction targets.