AMO’s Work on Climate Change
By Amber Crawford
AMO Senior Advisor
As COP26, the 2021 United Nations Conference on Climate Change, wrestles with the global effort to reduce emissions and limit changes in average temperature on an international level, municipal leaders may be asking themselves just what we can do locally to help. AMO’s Board has identified the priority of addressing the urgency of climate change as a strategic objective this year and last.
Since March 2020, AMO and LAS staff have jointly prepared a series of discussion papers that integrate and lay out a climate change lens on our policy and advocacy efforts. To date, four papers have been released, and can be found at the AMO website: https://www.amo.on.ca/advocacy/energy-environment-planning.
The papers cover the following subjects:
- Flooding, Climate Change and Municipal Response – October 2020
- The Environmental Footprint of Telecommunications – February 2021
- Building Retrofits and Deeper Energy Savings – April 2021
- Using DERs to Fight Climate Change – September 2021
Three additional papers are in development and expected in the coming months:
- GHG Reductions from Food & Organic Waste
- Impact of Climate Change on Municipal Water and Waste Water Systems
- Opportunities for Renewable Natural Gas
In addition to this work, AMO has provided high-impact sessions on climate change at both the 2020 and 2021 AMO Conferences virtually as well as many sessions at previous conferences. The topic is expected again at the ROMA’s virtual 2022 Conference in January.
The purpose of this work is to integrate climate change, infrastructure investment and social policy to help municipal governments inform their energy, planning, and climate change strategies. For more information on how AMO and LAS are working with the municipal sector, the Province, and other stakeholders, please contact policy@amo.on.ca.
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