Georgian Bay Biosphere confirmed the Integrated Community Energy and Climate Action Plans (ICECAP) partnership has reached its first milestone in just ten months.
GBB released a statement Tuesday detailing ICECAP partners’ record progress despite COVID-19.
GBB said that partners have successfully calculated the greenhouse gas emissions for their own communities and operations, securing the background data needed to set targets to reduce emissions, completing Milestone one of five.
The Town of Pary Sound had just joined the initiative in 2020 along with the Townships of The Archipelago, Carling, McKellar, and Seguin.
To assist in part of the calculations, GBB developed the ‘Carbon Calculator’ as an online tool for permanent and seasonal residents, as well as businesses, to see how many tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) they produce.
Individuals can compare their results to the average person in Ontario and in Canada with paper copies available at participating municipal offices.
Milestone one has produced a regional emissions profile that is summarized at gbbr.ca/climate-action and shows that among ICECAP’s member municipalities, waterborne transportation is at 34 percent of GHG emissions, with on-road transportation accounting for 34 percent and off-road transportation at two percent.
The residential sector of homes and cottages makes up 18 percent of regional emissions, with eight percent from commercial, one percent from industrial, and three percent from waste.
Milestone 1 for ICECAP’s members shows that roughly 68 percent of emissions come from transportation, higher than other areas due to waterborne transport.
GBB said staff will spend this year helping ICECAP members model achievable GHG reductions such as charging stations for Zero-Emission Vehicles and consult with councils and community members on Local Climate Action Plans.
The online Carbon Calculator is still open for anyone to use with over 500 people already using it, and once utility bills are gathered results come out in 15 minutes. You can go to gbbr.ca/climate-calculator to learn more.