Community plan to reduce Waterloo Region’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions up for comment
Waterloo Region – ClimateActionWR, a local collaborative of all municipalities and environmental non-profit groups Reep Green Solutions and Sustainable Waterloo Region, are partnering to lead the region to reduce GHG emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 through a plan called TransformWR. It will be available for public input starting today on engagewr.ca.
“We named the plan TransformWR because it describes a path to transition Waterloo Region to an equitable, prosperous, resilient, low-carbon community by 2050,” said Mary Jane Patterson, Executive Director, Reep Green Solutions.
In 2015, 94 per cent of the community’s emissions came from energy used for transportation, workplaces and homes. As a result, reducing our emissions is about changing the ways we use energy. “We know from public input and technical modelling we need to make transformative changes in our community in order to meet our substantial emission reduction targets on time,” said Tova Davidson, Executive Director, Sustainable Waterloo Region.
TransformWR focuses on the following four areas to make the biggest impact:
- how we move;
- how we build and operate our spaces;
- how we produce, consume and waste; and
- how we relate.
The group is looking for comments on the TransformWR document by completing an online survey by April 12. This will be the last round of community consultation before the plan is finalized and reviewed by the eight municipal councils late spring 2021. It will ensure previous input, combined with technical analysis, has resulted in a strong and achievable pathway to 80by50.
The TransformWR strategy received financial support from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
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