Climate change

About 75 percent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions come from activities that occur in cities, and municipalities have a direct or indirect control over about half of those emissions. 

In the last two years, Lowertown has joined efforts of other community associations and environment associations to help secure a commitment from City Council to renew its Air Quality and Climate Change Management Plan. As it expired last year, we joined others in demanding a Greenhouse Gas Roundtable in March 2013 to discuss next steps, and participated actively. 

We continue to monitor and will be watching to ensure the City fulfills its commitment for a renewed plan in 2014. In recent years we have signed letters encouraging the implementation of green roofs, a fast lane for green developments, and a home energy retrofit financing policy, among others.

In 2013, Ottawa experienced extreme flooding, followed by record-making snowfalls in 2014 and record-breaking cold in February 2015.