Mississauga Declares Climate Emergency

The City of Mississauga is joining a growing number of Canadian municipalities who are taking action on climate change. On June 19, City Council passed a motion declaring a climate emergency in Mississauga. The motion outlined the City’s commitment to taking action on climate change and directed staff to develop and bring forward a climate change action plan to Council for approval by the end of 2019.

“Mississauga is working to become climate change leaders, and we’re proud to be reaffirming our commitment by joining cities across the country in declaring a climate emergency.”

“Mississauga will not sit back idly as climate change affects our city, whether that’s extreme weather, flooding, impacts to air quality or plastic pollution in our waterways. In Mississauga, we regularly consider the impacts of climate change in everything we do, whether that’s policy development and strategy or exploring innovative technologies such as hydrogen buses, that support building a low carbon and resilient Mississauga,” said Mayor Bonnie Crombie. “Our efforts will be meaningful, measurable and will result in real, tangible improvements to our environment. We are currently putting the final touches on our Climate Change Action Plan. In the meantime, we will ensure we are prepared and ready to respond to future climate events while remaining focused on our efforts to transition to a low-carbon economy by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, curbing our use of single-plastics and implementing green technologies.”

On June 11, students from Camilla Road Senior Public School spoke to the City’s Environmental Action Committee (EAC). They asked that the City declare a climate emergency.

“Deputations like the one from the students at Camilla Road Senior Public School are important because they advocate for a promising future – ensuring a great quality of life for our future generations,” said Ward 8 Councillor and EAC Chair Matt Mahoney. “It reinforces the work we are doing at the City to address the impacts that we’re experiencing in Mississauga. It is an important issue that affects us all, which is why EAC moved the motion forward for Council approval.”

In September 2017, the City also joined the Global Covenant of Mayors the largest international coalition of its kind. Established by the United Nations in 2008, it seeks to demonstrate the global impact cities are making to transition to a low carbon and climate resilient economy.

“Through the development of our Climate Change Action plan, Mississauga is identifying actions to achieve ambitious greenhouse gas emission reductions by 2050,” said Jodi Robillos, Director, Parks, Forestry and Environment. “Our plan looks at climate change influencers like using electricity over natural gas for heat, low emission mobility options including hybrid-electric buses and electric vehicles and producing more renewable energy.”

The City’s Climate Change Action Plan is set to go Council for final approval this fall. For more information about the City’s Climate Action Plan, visit theclimatechangeproject.ca.

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• Climate Change