THE CITIES
+ CLIMATE
INITIATIVE
The Cities + Climate Initiative (formerly the Cities + COP26 Initiative) was formed in early 2021, with the goal of supporting Canadian cities and city-focused civil society organizations in advancing multilevel climate action in Canada. Through three major roundtable dialogues in 2021 and 2022, as well as our activities at the COP26 UN Climate Conference, our team has worked continuously to amplify the voices of Canadian cities as they weave a cohesive and cooperative narrative about their major collective climate asks.
TARGET
OUTCOMES
⦿
Deepened direct local-federal relationship on climate in Canada, following the convening of targeted dialogues centred around the importance of cities and multilevel climate action.
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Improved public awareness about multilevel climate action, societal shifts due to climate impacts, local zero emission transition plans, etc. using public education campaigns, and other promotional activities.
Expanded and strengthened international partnerships that would bring the best climate action expertise to Canada, export any domestic successes to other parts of the globe, and raise the profile of the Canadian network in a new climate-forward global economy.
Improved collaboration and trust among key city and civil society actors in advancing multilevel climate action in Canada, following the development of coordinated key messaging, clear asks to the federal government, and identification of major intervention points.
RESOURCES
OPEN
CANADA'S NDC
40
45
-
%
GHG reductions below 2005 levels by 2030
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WHAT THE EXPERTS
SAY ABOUT OUR TARGETS
<<1.5°C
<1.5°C
<2°C
<3°C
<4°C
4°C+
Highly Insufficient
Climate Action Tracker
The Climate Action Tracker (CAT) is an independent scientific analysis that tracks government climate action and measures it against the Paris Agreement. CAT is an initiative of Climate Analytics and New Climate Institute.
As part of its updated assessment, CAT rates Canada's NDC as "highly insufficient", indicating that the NDC is not consistent with holding warming below 2°C, or the 1.5°C consistent with the Paris Agreement.
On Policies & Action, Canada's plans are rated as "highly insufficient". Our domestic targets are rated as "almost sufficient", with our climate finance plans rated as "highly insufficient". In a Fair Share assessment, Canada is rated as "insufficient".
What does the science call for?
The Climate Action Network Canada | Réseau Action Climat Canada is a coalition of more than 100 climate-focused organizations across the country.
They are calling for a national target of at least 60% domestic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and 80% emissions reductions abroad through Canadian support.
40
%
(445 Mt CO₂ eq)
domestic emissions
reduction
60
%
(594 Mt CO₂ eq)
foreign
emissions
reduction
OUR ACTIVITIES
The power of convening. With the support of the facilitation resources at the SFU Morris J Wosk Centre for Dialogue, we convene national dialogues that bring together various governments, civil society representatives, industry partners, and experts from outside Canada.
These dialogues help generate concrete steps that support Canadian multilevel climate action. They also provide an opportunity for climate practitioners to have frank conversations with decision makers about current climate trajectories and public policy.
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On the world stage. This initiative supports Canadian multilevel climate efforts at home and abroad at engagements such as COP. These efforts foster a healthy international knowledge exchange. The development of partnerships with places abroad facing similar challenges to those in Canada helps improve our mitigation, adaptation, and innovation actions.
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Open knowledge. At the SFU Centre for Dialogue, we lead many initiatives that build civic literacy among the general public on a variety of topics. The Cities + Climate Initiative operates similarly to translate knowledge from national dialogues, international dialogues, and expert resources for access by the general public. We believe that building understanding is important to sustain change.
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