News release

City Makes Major Progress on Fighting Climate Change

Environment | December 1, 2021

The City of Mississauga has released its first progress report on its Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP), and is making great strides towards meeting its goals. The CCAP is a plan supported by important actions the City has and will take to address climate change.

The CCAP progress report focuses on actions implemented since the CCAP was approved. It also includes a snapshot of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) over the last few years. As part of the CCAP, the City committed to reporting annually on its progress. Of the 89 actions in the CCAP, about 65 per cent of them are either underway or ongoing and two actions are completed.

“Municipalities like Mississauga are experiencing the impacts of climate change first hand, with extreme weather like heat waves and storms every year. We recognize our role in fighting climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Mayor Bonnie Crombie. “Having an annual report to track our progress allows us to be transparent and accountable in meeting our targets. We’ve already replaced some of our buses with hybrid-electric buses, installed more bike lanes and developed a Green Fleet and Equipment Policy and Electric Vehicle Charging Station Standard for the City. However, we cannot do this alone – we need our communities, businesses and all levels of government to come together to reduce carbon footprints while continuing to advocate for climate action across all sectors.”

Approved by Council in December 2019, the CCAP is the City’s first comprehensive plan on climate change. The plan presents a 10-year roadmap with two main goals: reduce GHGs 40 per cent by 2030 and 80 per cent by 2050; and increase the City’s resilience and capacity to withstand and respond to climate events.

Some of the highlights from the progress report include:

  • Implementing a Corporate Green Building Standard
  • Conducting a district energy (DE) feasibility study for Downtown Mississauga and supporting DE at Lakeview Village
  • Including sustainability and climate-related information in financial reporting
  • Continuing to divert dog waste from landfill through the dog waste program
  • Installing electric vehicle chargers, including planned installations for public use
  • Developing a Green Fleet and Equipment Policy
  • Completing the Climate Change Youth Challenge
  • Continuing to implement the City’s community gardens program
  • Launched the Project Neutral carbon calculator – a tool designed to help residents understand their own carbon footprint and ways to reduce emissions at home.

“The City has laid the groundwork for climate action to help lower carbon emissions in Mississauga,” said Jodi Robillos, Commissioner, Community Services. “While the City has made progress, we also recognize that climate action needs to accelerate in order to meet our targets and limit the impacts of climate change. This includes reducing our corporate emissions, with a focus on our two largest sources – City buildings and transit operations.”

The City will be replacing more of MiWay’s older-model buses with new hybrid-electric buses. Five new, second-generation hybrid-electric buses (60 ft.) will be added to MiWay’s existing fleet – the first is already in service while the other four is expected in early 2022. This will increase the total number of hybrid-electric buses to 41. In addition, the City will continue exploring other options for zero-emission buses such as hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses.

To learn more about the City’s Climate Change Action Plan and progress report, visit: mississauga.ca/publication/climate-change-action-plan/

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City of Mississauga Media Relations
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