NEWS RELEASE
CITY OF ORILLIA
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Orillia council received the city’s new climate change adaptation strategy at its meeting held on Aug. 14, 2023.
The adaptation strategy builds upon the existing actions taken by the city to address climate change and allows the city to proactively identify action opportunities to advance the community further towards climate resiliency.
While the climate change action plan identifies the path to net-zero emissions for corporate operations by 2040 and net-zero emissions for the community by 2050, the climate change adaptation strategy focuses on building climate change resilience and advancing community and city efforts to adapt to a changing climate.
“The City of Orillia is committed to environmental stewardship and continuous improvement to ensure the health and safety of our community,” said Mayor Don McIsaac. “The city’s climate change adaptation strategy, along with our climate change action plan, will help guide decision making for the city to take the necessary steps to reduce our environmental impact and protect our natural resources.”
The climate change adaptation strategy was developed through Orillia’s partnership with ICLEI Canada and in consultation with various community stakeholders including Hydro One, Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, Lakehead University, Georgian College, Sustainable Orillia, Chippewas of Rama First Nation, Couchiching Conservancy, Bass Lake Farms and Green Orillia. Over the course of 18 months, community and staff working groups met to identify 27 actions grouped under four themes:
- People and health
- Increasing the resilience of the community to climate change-related impacts and creating a healthier, more vibrant community.
- Built environment
- Targeting key infrastructure vulnerability, rethinking the way the city builds, and supporting residents in protecting and increasing the resilience of their property and homes from future climate change.
- Natural environment
- Protecting and enhancing Orillia’s natural environment and the services it provides while encouraging residents to engage in the growing of their food and gardens to further solidify our relationship with our surrounding environment.
- Energy and economy
- Improving energy availability and resiliency as well as business continuity in the face of extreme weather to minimize damage and losses, ensuring our community is protected, and that we are adapted where possible to the future economic shifts that come with a changing climate.
“The city continues to take action to mitigate and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions as a corporation, but as a municipality we are also focusing on helping our community adapt to climate change effects,” said Renee Recoskie, director of facilities, climate change and operations.
“As a community, we all must work together to address and mitigate climate change and our new adaptation strategy will help guide us through this process.”
It will be a community effort to achieve actions identified in the climate change adaptation strategy and the climate change action plan. The city will continue to collaborate with local partners to work towards the actions outlined in the strategy, and to increase education and awareness of community members about the climate adaptation efforts underway within the City of Orillia. Action items with a financial impact would be brought to council for approval during the annual budget process.
To learn more about the city’s climate change adaptation strategy, visit orillia.ca/climatefuture.
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