Climate and Sustainability

The consequences of climate change are being experienced across the globe. In Canada, the impacts of climate change are increasingly being felt by communities. Warmer temperatures, heavier precipitation and extreme weather events have become the ‘new normal’ with harmful consequences for human, natural and built systems. It is now evident that some amount of climate change is inevitable even with successful mitigation efforts. Therefore, adaptation is not only recommended but mandatory to protect our communities and the environment from the impacts of climate change.

To combat the adverse effects of climate change at the municipal scale, investments in climate change adaptation planning are recommended by scientists, governments, and policymakers alike. This information has translated to the local levels as hundreds of Canadian municipalities have developed climate plans and are engaging in climate action. The Town of Pelham is no different. Please review the Town's CCCAP.

Corporate Climate Change Adaptation Plan

The Town of Pelham's Vulnerability to Climate Change

As climate change impacts continue to rise in Canada, so does climate vulnerability. Vulnerability to climate change refers to the susceptibility of a particular given area, municipality, or social demographic to potential impacts posed by climate change. 

The Town of Pelham would like to thank Pelham residents who completed the Niagara Adapts Climate Survey. The survey was administered through Brock University's Environmental Sustainability Research Centre back in the fall of 2019 and the results were released in early March of this year.

Check out the results from the survey below!

Town of Pelham Climate Vulnerability Fact Sheet

Mandate

Based on the scientific consensus from leading climate organizations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Town of Pelham recognizes the seriousness of a changing climate and the uncertainties caused by it.

Amongst the six strategic priorities defined in the Town of Pelham’s 2019 Strategic Plan, one particularly focuses on “grow[ing] revenue by promoting cultural assets while protecting environmental assets”. To successfully accomplish this priority, actions listed in the plan indicate that the Town will “introduce best practices related to climate change and for the protection and preservation of environmental assets” as well as “educate and create community awareness in regards to [the] importance of environmental assets and climate change impacts”. Other supporting municipal documents, such as the Town’s Official Plan, also mention the need to understand the natural environment in order to manage climate risks. Components of the plan include the commitment to “maintain, enhance or restore ecosystem health and integrity”, “protect natural resources”, and “ensure that all infrastructure including sanitary sewers, water distribution and storm water management facilities, public service facilities, and roads meet the needs of present and future residents and businesses”. These commitments, along with the aforementioned strategic priority stated in the Town’s 2019 Strategic Plan, address the concern to increase the Town’s capacity to adapt to climate change through the development and implementation a Corporate Climate Change Adaptation Plan (CCCAP).

The purpose, therefore, of the Corporate Climate Change Adaptation Plan, is to increase the adaptive capacity and resiliency of the Town of Pelham’s assets and services to current and future climate impacts, and to integrate climate change adaptation practices into day-to-day operations.

What are the Objectives of the Town's Adaptation Plan?

The climate adaptation plan will include the following objectives and will act as a reference for Town staff when required:

1. A clear vision, objectives and actions for the Town of Pelham’s Corporate Climate Change Adaptation Plan;
2. Council approval for the development and implementation of the plan;
3. Identification and assessment of the risks and vulnerabilities of a changing climate to Town assets, services and day-to-day operations;
4. Prioritization of the risks and vulnerabilities through adaptive options. These options aim to reduce the risk and vulnerability relative to climate change and extreme weather impacts and will involve extensive research on current best municipal practices.
5. An implementation schedule of adaptation measures that will include: a detailed timeline, estimated costs, required staff and their responsibilities, and a monitoring and evaluation framework.

What is our Scope?

The scope of the Adaptation Plan is restricted to the Town of Pelham and will focus on the adaptive and resilient capabilities of a changing climate to Town-owned assets (such as buildings, vehicles, street lights and traffic signals, bridges and culverts, sanitary sewer and storm sewer networks, water distribution networks and roads), Town-run programs and day-to-day operations. 

Niagara Adapts

Niagara Adapts is a partnership designed to build innovative climate solutions right here in Niagara. By leveraging resources and expertise from seven municipalities in the Niagara Region and Brock University's Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, the partnership will support collaborative climate change adaptation assessment, planning and implementation.

For more, visit the Niagara Adapts website: www.brocku.ca/esrc/niagara-adapts

Ontario's Conservation and Demand Management Regulation for Public Agencies

Ontario Regulation 397/11, under the Green Energy Act, 2009, requires public agencies including municipalities, universities, colleges of applied arts and technology, school boards, municipal service boards (for water and sewage treatment and pumping operations) and hospitals to report on their annual energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in designated facilities by July 1, beginning in 2013.

These agencies are also required to develop and implement energy conservation and demand management plans every five years, beginning in 2014.