Climate Action Plan

Did you know the City has a limited number of zero interest loans for residents to install an air source heat pump in 2024? And that we also have a pilot program to offer residents a grant to cover the cost of the building permit required for rooftop solar panels until the end of 2024? For more information, check out our Better Homes Burlington page and see if you’re eligible for either of these programs. You can contact our program coordinator to discuss options at betterhomes@burlington.ca.

Taking Action on Climate Change

Our climate is changing. It's not just about polar bears and melting ice caps; it's about our homes, our communities, and our future.

We all need to ‘Take Action Burlington’ to:

• Reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, and
• Take steps to adapt to our warmer, wetter and wilder weather.

Small actions can lead to big impacts. Whether it's reducing single-use plastics, making the switch to active and sustainable modes of transportation, replacing your gas or diesel vehicle with an electric vehicle, replacing your furnace with an air source heat pump, naturalizing your garden to attract pollinators, taking steps to reduce your risk of flooding, or advocating for sustainable, climate friendly policies – every effort counts!

In 2019, Burlington City Council declared a climate emergency to deepen our commitment to protecting our economy, environment and community from climate change and apply a climate lens to our plans and actions.

Through our corporate and community plans, we are working towards carbon neutrality while also adapting to climate change.

Some of our actions include:

• Planning for City buildings and vehicles to be low or zero carbon,
• Increasing renewable energy on municipal property,
• Supporting active and sustainable transportation,
• Growing our tree canopy,
• Protecting our greenspace, and
• Reducing our flood risk.

Check out our video and stay tuned for future Take Action Burlington posts and videos on how we can all take action to reduce our climate impact and prepare for our warmer, wetter and wilder weather.

The City of Burlington’s Better Homes Burlington team hosted a series of free, one-hour information sessions to walk homeowners through the process of switching to an air-source heat pump, and applying for available financial incentive programs. This recording is from the October 23^rd session co-presented by staff from The Atmospheric Fund.

For more information

• Visit the burlington.ca/betterhomes webpage
• Email betterhomes@burlington.ca or
• Call 905-335-7600 ext. 7974

Better Homes Burlington is an action under the City’s community Climate Action Plan, approved by Council in 2020 following their climate emergency declaration. Burning fossil fuels to heat our homes contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. By transitioning away from the use of fossil fuels, we can reduce our collective carbon footprint.

Have you heard? The City of Burlington is launching Better Homes Burlington, a pilot program to help homeowners with the installation of an air source heat pump. The City is offering zero percent loans up to $10,000 for up to 20 homeowners.

Why consider an air source heat pump? Heat pumps….

• Provide both heating and cooling
• Are more efficient at cooling than air conditioners
• Will reduce your carbon footprint

The Better Homes Burlington program coordinator can help you determine if you meet the eligibility requirements for the loan. And, if you’re considering a deeper energy efficiency retrofit of your home, the coordinator can also assist with information on existing incentive programs, financing options and the benefits of a Home EnerGuide Assessment.

More information can be found at burlington.ca/betterhomes

The application process will open in September. Applications will be accepted until the end of January 2024 or when the program is fully subscribed, whichever comes first.

For more information

• Visit the burlington.ca/betterhomes webpage
• Email betterhomes@burlington.ca or
• Call 905-335-7600 ext. 7974

Better Homes Burlington is an action under the City’s community Climate Action Plan, approved by Council in 2020 following their climate emergency declaration. Burning fossil fuels to heat our homes contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. By transitioning away from the use of fossil fuels, we can reduce our collective carbon footprint.

An update report on the Climate Action Plan is going to the Environment, Infrastructure and Community Services Committee on September 15, 2022.

The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the progress of the implementation of the Climate Action Plan, providing a pathway to reduce community based greenhouse gas emissions to meet the target for Burlington to be net carbon neutral by 2050.

The related climate adaptation plan, Climate Resilient Burlington: A Plan for Adapting to Our Warmer, Wetter and Wilder Weather, was approved by Council in July (EICS-12- 22). Prior to this, staff presented the draft Climate Resilient Burlington plan in May (EICS-02-22), which was made available on getinvolvedburlington.ca/crb for public review and feedback. Burlington’s climate projections report was presented in March 2021 (EICS-03-21).

An update on the City’s Corporate Energy and Emissions Management Plan (EICS-06- 22) was presented in June, highlighting the progress to date on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from City operations (buildings and fleet) showing community leadership. The City has a target for its operations to be net carbon neutral by 2040.

• Read the Community Stakeholder Advisory Committee, Partnerships and Collaboration report
• Read the McMaster Renewable Energy Best Practice Research Report

One of the key program areas identified in the Climate Action Plan relates to increasing the use of renewable energy in our community. The City has partnered with the Engineering and Public Policy, W Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology program at McMaster University to research best practices and opportunities to support the adoption of renewable energy in Burlington. As part of this research, we have a survey to determine the attitudes and experiences of Burlington residents in installing or are contemplating installing renewable energy options. The survey will take approximately 10 minutes.

For full details of the study, please read the Letter of Information provided by McMaster University.

Final report presented to the Environment, Infrastructure & Community Services Committee on March 3^rd

Staff from the City and the Centre for Climate Change Management at Mohawk College co-presented the final report on the Better Homes Burlington Home Energy Efficiency Retrofit Project to the Environment, Infrastructure & Community Services Committee on March 3^rd. Council approved staff to proceed to the next steps to develop a business case for the 2023 budget process for the resources required to support home energy efficiency loans for homeowners. The program will make available loans of up to $10,000 to cover the costs of the installation of air source heat pumps and leak sealing. The program also entails a virtual delivery centre to provide guidance to homeowners on the available measures and incentive programs to help them improve the energy efficiency of their homes and reduce their carbon footprint.

A follow up report will be presented to council in 2023 pending budget approval for the program to outline the details of the program requirements.

Final report going to the Environment, Infrastructure & Community Services Committee on March 3^rd.

Staff will present the final report on the Home Energy Efficiency Retrofit Project to the Environment, Infrastructure & Community Services Committee on March 3^rd. The city has been working in partnership with the Centre for Climate Change Management at Mohawk College on this project to assess the feasibility of developing a program to help Burlington homeowners improve the energy efficiency of their dwellings and reduce their carbon footprint. This has been identified as a priority program area under the Climate Action Plan.

The City of Burlington is pleased to announce it has received a B grade for climate action efforts from the Climate Disclosure Project (CDP). This is the first time the City has received a grade. CDP is a non-profit charity and provides a global disclosure climate action reporting platform for businesses and all levels of government.

The City reported its progress on the implementation of the community-based Climate Action Plan, the community emissions inventory and carbon reduction target. CDP awarded the City a B for its reporting, recognizing its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions contributing to climate change.

Reporting through the CDP platform helps the City to meet its reporting requirements for the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM), the largest global alliance for city climate leadership across the globe. The City joined GCoM in 2020 and was one of 25 Canadian municipalities to participate in Showcase Cities, a program hosted by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Partners for Climate Protection program and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. The program was designed to support municipalities in their actions to meet the requirements of GCoM.

Did you know that 98 percent of homes built before 2017 need to be retrofitted by 2050 for the cities of Burlington and Hamilton to reach their carbon reduction goals? If you are a Burlington or Hamilton homeowner interested in learning more about energy efficiencies for your single-family home (detached, semi-detached or townhouse), register for an upcoming free Home Energy Retrofit Orientation (HERO) Program webinar to ensure you include energy efficiency as part of the renovation.

What to Expect:

• Module 1: Getting Started
  • Typical homes, energy audits, retrofit roadmaps
  • House as a system and air sealing upgrades
• Module 2: Improve Your Envelope
• Module 3: Optimize Your Mechanicals
  • Air conditioning and heating upgrades
• Module 4: Keep it Flowing
  • Hot water upgrades, reasons to renovate, next steps

Registration Details:

• Nov. 21, 2020
• 10 a.m. – noon, or
• 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
• events.eply.com/HEROProgramWebinar

Avoid disappointment and register now. There are only 50 spots available in each webinar session.

This webinar is brought to you by Humber College and Enbridge Inc., supported by the City of Burlington, City of Hamilton and the Centre for Climate Change Management at Mohawk College.

The webinar will be facilitated by Kirk Johnson and Jack Zhou. Kirk is a Sustainability Director with 17 years of experience developing sustainability programs across Canada to address capacity building, energy efficiency, and experiential learning opportunities in the built environment. Jack is a Managing Principal at A&J Energy Consultants and a well-recognized Certified Energy Advisor (CEA) for homes in Ontario, with over 10 years of experience in the industry.

For more information, please contact Adrienne Madden, Industry Partnerships Lead, Centre for Climate Change Management at Mohawk College at adrienne.madden@mohawkcollege.ca or follow @CCCMatMohawk on Twitter.

Take Action Burlington! Get motivated and empowered to take action on climate change by improving the energy efficiency of your home. Collectively we can make a difference.