City of Edmonton has approved a new Community Energy Transition Strategy with targets aligned with the Paris Agreement. It also outlines economic local opportunities.
“We are already seeing the consequences of climate change,” said Stephanie McCabe, deputy city manager, urban form and corporate strategic development. “Energy transition is a way to create local jobs today, while reducing emissions and avoiding the most catastrophic impacts like increased wildfires and urban flooding that science has warned us about.”
To become carbon neutral by 2050, the new strategy is designed to accelerate change in four transformational areas:
- Renewable and Resilient Energy Transition
- Emissions Neutral Buildings
- Low Carbon City and Transportation
- Carbon Capture and Nature Based Solutions
The new Community Energy Transition Strategy will help shape Edmonton’s future economy and the way Edmonton is built—transforming how energy is generated, how people move around the city, how buildings are constructed.
The new plan builds on the Community Energy Transition Strategy from 2015 to limit the rise of global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. This ambitious target aligns with Edmonton’s long term vision of transitioning to a low-carbon future, outlined in ConnectEdmonton and The City Plan.
“The Energy Transition Strategy is a jobs, public health and quality of life plan, as much as it is a climate response,” said Mayor Don Iveson. “This strategy builds on our proud heritage as energy problem solvers here in the heart of Canada’s traditional energy economy, to remain prosperous through the transition to a carbon-neutral economy.”
