The Climate Change Project

Thank you for your question. The City of Mississauga intends to release a Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) by the end of the year. The CCAP includes but is not limited to, exploring green roofs and other green infrastructure options.

Thank you for your question. The City of Mississauga is committed to taking action on climate change and with the Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) being released by the end of the year, we will have tangible actions that will help Mississauga become a resilient, low-carbon, and green city. As a municipality we will continue to move forward with climate action and the implementation of the Climate Change Action Plan, which will be a ten year action plan. If you haven't already, sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on the Climate Change Project.

Thank you for your question. Recently, the City of Mississauga declared a Climate Emergency, committing the City to taking action on climate change. The City's Climate Change Action Plan will be a comprehensive ten year action plan, including many short-term and long-term actions and targets, which will help the City prepare for and respond to the impacts of climate change between now and 2030 and beyond. The Plan is set to go Council for final approval this fall. If you haven't already, sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on the Climate Change Project and the finalization of the Climate Change Action Plan. 

The City recognizes the important role of trees and offers a variety of tree planting program, including the One Million Trees program which helps conserve and further enhance the City’s open spaces and forested areas for future generations to enjoy. Through this program, the City has planted over 300,000 trees with the goal of planting one million trees by 2032. Trees are planted by City staff and volunteers on public and private property. 

If you are interested in learning more about opportunities for planting on public and private lands you can check out the planting programs 

We agree and we have strived to provide meaningful opportunities to engage our community. 

The Climate Change Stakeholder Panel represents key agencies and organizations in the City of Mississauga and provides ongoing input to the Climate Change Project.  For more information see https://yoursay.mississauga.ca/climate-change/news_feed/stakeholder-panel.

Over the course of this summer, we have been engaging the community through a variety of events and campaigns.

In July, we held the After Dark Earth Market which attracted over 5,000 people. It was held in partnership with Many Feathers on Celebration Square and included ArtWorkX – a live art showcase, musical performances from Rhythm Works and Jammers Waffle House, fresh air yoga with YogaVision, and the Imagine2050 Escape Room (in partnership with Escape from The 6).

We also held our Imagine2050 Photo Contest, in partnership with Visual Arts Mississauga and the Atmospheric Fund, which asked residents to imagine what a low carbon and resilient Mississauga would look like in the year 2050. We had over 50 submissions. Twelve photographs were selected as finalists by a panel of judges and showcased at the Imagine2050 Pop Up at Erin Mills Town Centre. Winners were recently announced at the Work of Wind event on September 22. The Imagine 2050 Pop Up also included a Time Capsule, a 10 minute puzzle activity with a series of progressive challenges. Residents were given the chance to solve a series of challenges to combat the effects of climate change in the future which translated into actions they can take now to combat climate change.

The Imagine2050 Escape Room was another highlight. The escape room was developed in partnership with Escape from The 6 and was offered at two locations throughout the month of July at Celebration Square during the After Dark Earth Market and at Erin Mills Town Centre.

The Escape Room provided an immersive and interactive experience for Mississauga residents to learn:

1.  How climate change is affecting the City of Mississauga

2.  What action they can take to reduce their impact on climate change

3.  About the actions the city is undertaking to combat climate change through the City's Climate Change Action Plan

A total of 715 people participated in the Imagine2050 Escape Room.

The City has a stormwater charge credit program for commercial, industrial, institutional and multi-residential (condominium and apartment) properties that implement stormwater best management practices. Properties can receive up to a 50% credit on their stormwater charge, depending on what measures are implemented. Green roofs that help to manage stormwater could qualify for stormwater credits.  For more information, go to http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/stormwater/charge.

As we develop the Climate Change Action Plan, we will be considering a wide range of options, including incentives, to help our community adapt to and mitigate climate change.

The City of Mississauga has installed permeable surfaces in many locations, including:

• Etobicoke Creek Trail (near Britannia Road and Courtneypark Drive) – Parking Lot
• Lakeside Park – Parking Lot – https://cvc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/CaseStudy_Lakeside_Final.pdf
• O’Connor Park – Parking Lot – https://cvc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/CaseStudy_O_Connor_Final.pdf
• Scholars’ Green (beside Sheridan College in Downtown Mississauga) – Parking Lot - Park also has permeable walking pavement areas
• Meadowvale Community Centre  - Parking Lot
• Elm Drive (near Burnhamthorpe and Hurontario) https://cvc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/CaseStudy_Elm_Drive_Final.pdf

Thank you for pointing out Project Drawdown. 

Many of the solutions suggested in Project Drawdown are being implemented by the City of Mississauga such as: installing cycling infrastructure, converting all streetlights to LED, encouraging developers to install green roofs, building energy efficient City facilities and planning for complete communities. 

The Climate Change Action Plan will provide actions for the City of Mississauga and the community to both mitigate and adapt to climate change.  As part of the Climate Change Project, we are investigating Project Drawdown.

Energy, and specifically renewable energy generation, is definitely a big part of climate change considerations.  Through the development of the Climate Change Action Plan, we will be exploring renewable energy opportunities in Mississauga. 

Thank you for sharing such an innovative idea!  Through the development of the Climate Change Action Plan, we will be exploring opportunities such as these to help mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Mississauga has green development standards that encourage sustainable development practices for new developments, including green roofs.  Please see http://www6.mississauga.ca/onlinemaps/planbldg/UrbanDesign/GDS_Oct2012.pdf.  In addition, through the development of the Climate Change Action Plan, we will be exploring opportunities to encourage sustainable development, including retrofits. 

The City also has a stormwater charge credit program for commercial, industrial, institutional and multi-residential (condominium and apartment) properties that implement stormwater best management practices. Properties can receive up to a 50% credit on their stormwater charge, depending on what measures are implemented. Green roofs that help to manage stormwater could qualify for stormwater credits.

Through the development of the Climate Change Action Plan, we will be exploring opportunities to encourage sustainable development practices.   We encourage you to take a look at existing programs that assist homeowners in reducing energy such as the Green Ontario Fund - greenon.ca.

Energy is definitely a big part of climate change considerations.  Through the development of the Climate Change Action Plan, we will be exploring renewable energy opportunities in Mississauga.  There are existing programs that assist homeowners in reducing energy such as the Green Ontario Fund - greenon.ca.

We will be reaching out to the community starting in May.  Please stay tuned for announcements shortly.

Mississauga's climate is changing and has already experienced a half-degree average temperature increase over the last 100 years. There have been three major climate events in Mississauga in the past nine years: the Cooksville flood of 2009, the rain and windstorms of July 2013 and the ice storm of December 2013. The three hottest years on record globally were 2014, 2015, and 2016. 

Both the Federal and Provincial Governments have placed a high priority on climate change and are investing in solutions: 

Canada:  https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/weather/climatechange/climate-action.html.

Ontario:  https://www.ontario.ca/page/climate-change

This provides Mississauga with direction and support for climate change action.

If you check the Documents Library you'll find some data on recent events in Mississauga: https://yoursay.mississauga.ca/climate-change/documents

In addition if watch the video at this link (skip to 53:43): http://bcove.me/n4ldy239 you'll see a presentation with some of this information included as well.

Although we don't have any plans right now, as we develop the Action Plan through this process, we will be considering a wide range of options such as this one to help our community adapt to and mitigate climate change. Thanks for your input! 

We regret the lack of information and updates we have posted to the page. We've been diligently working on the project and are working hard to get some info and updates out soon.

There is no one easy answer to this question. We recognize the importance of taking action, but we also recognize the challenges that accompany making that action happen. We know the recent events and how they have affected the city, and how future events will affect the City. We are committed to making the city a leader in taking climate action.

We're here and we regret the lack of updates. We are working hard to get some info and updates out soon.

Thank you for your kind words!

We have been a bit delayed, but there will be upcoming details on how you can get involved in this project. Stay tuned.

We can't comment on Canada as a whole, but we are committed to doing our part in taking climate action.

We plan on exploring this issue through the development of the plan. We have invited both the English Public and Catholic separate school boards, and both conservation authorities to participate on our stakeholder panel to ensure the connection is made. In addition Ecosource participates on our Environmental Action Committee which is also engaged significantly in this process, helping to shape the community aspects of the plan.

The City has recruited major stakeholders to participate on the stakeholder panel. Because citizens of the City are such a large and diverse group, we plan to engage you in a separate way to ensure this significant input is captured appropriately.

More info on the panel can be found in item 8.1 at this link: https://www7.mississauga.ca/documents/committees/general/2017/2017_06_28__General_Committee_Agenda_online.pdf

There will be many opportunities to provide input throughout the development of the plan. Check back here later for information on how to get involved.

We've heard from many residents that the City needs to take action on climate change. Since we launched the project we've also heard from many more how happy they are that we are undertaking this work. This project was approved as a part of the 2017 budget process that all residents have a chance to input on.

Throughout this project we will be looking at a wide range of options to adapt to all of the projected changes we will see in the climate. there will be many opportunities for everyone in City to provide input throughout the development of the plan. Check back here later for information on how provide input.

Emissions that effect air quality and greenhouse gas emissions often have the same sources. Many of the potential actions in the Plan would likely reduce both emission sources, benefiting our environment in multiple ways!

Adapting to our changing climate is a key part of this project.

Our Office of Emergency Management is already developing risk-based response plans for various events including extreme climate events. We also update existing plans once a year.

Community Energy actions and GHG sinks and offsets will be included for consideration throughout the project.

We're currently in the process of procuring a consulting team to support the development of the Plan. we will engage other experts through the development of the Panel and other times as needed through the project.

The City does not have any direct authority over controlling trucks and their emissions. However, through the development of the plan we will be looking at what can be done to reduce emissions from all transportation sources.

The City does not have a stormwater charge credit program for residential properties (detached homes, semi-detached and freehold townhouses). As a result, you would not be eligible for a rebate or credit for installing permeable pavers. The City did examine a residential credit program but found that, at this time, there is a relatively low uptake and high administration cost of such credit programs in other jurisdictions. That said, there are still immediate benefits to you and your property for installing permeable surfaces for driveways and pathways, such as reduced ponding on your property during storm events and reduced ice build-up and hazardous surfaces during cold weather. Increased permeable surface on your property also does help to reduce stormwater runoff, which can reduce the risk of flooding and help preserve the waterways, aquatic ecosystems and park areas that residents use and enjoy.

Thanks for your comment! We don’t have direct control over food or food systems so it won’t be addressed directly in our plan, but we have and will continue to raise awareness of the climate change implications in our food systems.

There is a current pilot project (The Pan Ontario Electric Bus Demonstration and Integration Trial ) that is being run with funding from the  federal and provincial governments in a number of Ontario municipalities to test electric buses, charging infrastructure and SMART grid impacts in the Ontario climate and context. The City has joined the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC) that is overseeing this trial and although the City of Mississauga is not a direct participant it is monitoring this project and will be reviewing the results to determine the timing for the introduction of electric buses into our transit fleet in the future.

Go to mississauga.ca/environment for information on the City's greenhouse gas inventory. Greenhouse gas targets will be developed as a part of the project. Buildings and transportation are the City's top to emission sources so these areas will be a main focus through this project.

We will be looking at renewable energy through the development of the plan. Follow along here as we develop the plan for details on how you can engage and participate.

We don’t have direct control over food or food systems so it won’t be addressed directly in our plan. However, we have and will continue to raise awareness of the climate change implications in our food systems.

Climate change is the process of greenhouse gasses emitted into the atmosphere changing our planet's climate patterns such as temperature, precipitation, winds and other factors. This is due largely to the emissions of greenhouse gases by human activities.

Greenhouse gases include:

• carbon dioxide;
• methane; and
• nitrous oxide.

Examples of climate change actions taken by the City, residents and businesses across Mississauga include:

• The City has a 5 Year Energy Conservation Plan to reduce energy and GHG’s by an additional one percent for the next five years with a total annual savings of approximately $575,000 per year.

• The City’s Greening Our Fleet program reduced greenhouse gas emissions equal to taking approximately 39 cars off the road per year. The program avoided over $500,000 in fuel costs between 2006 and 2012.

• Between 2014 and 2015, converting City streetlights to LEDs reduced greenhouse gas emissions equal to taking approximately 150 cars off the road per year.

• In 2016, a new stormwater charge was introduced to better maintain and expand stormwater infrastructure in Mississauga.

• Through the City’s One Million Trees program, more than 245,000 trees have been planted by the City, its partners and the community.

• Through City-run initiatives like Earth Markets, residents learn more about environmental actions and green activities.

Mississauga's climate is changing and has already experienced a half-degree average temperature increase over the last 100 years. 

There have been three major climate events in Mississauga in the past nine years: the Cooksville flood of 2009, the rain and windstorms of July 2013 and the ice storm of December 2013. 

The three hottest years on record globally were 2014, 2015, and 2016. 

Yes. The panel will include organizations that have a major stake in climate change action in the Mississauga. The panel will provide guidance throughout the development of the Plan, and participate in the creation of actions for the community.