Community Climate Action Plan

On June 8, 2023, the City of Kamloops hosted a webinar to help educate and inform residents about the Community Climate Action Plan (CCAP). A list of FAQs from the webinar have been posted and can be found here.

June 29, 2021 - City Council has adopted the Community Climate Action Plan (CCAP), which sets a course for reducing community emissions by 80% by 2050 while increasing our resilience to the impacts of climate change.

Council’s adoption of the plan is the last step in an extensive community engagement process that started in early 2019. The CCAP aims to guide, motivate, and inspire the City and the community to work together to reduce fossil fuel use and transition to a low-carbon future. It outlines a set of strategies, actions, and targets to reduce community greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30% by 2030 and up to 80% by 2050 (over the 2007 baseline), which is in line with international efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

“The plan’s targets are ambitious and achievable, reflecting the urgency to act while building on the foundation of climate action work in our community,” said Glen Cheetham, the City’s Sustainability Services Supervisor. “In fact, work is already underway on key strategies in the plan, such as expanding our connected bike network, building and retrofitting higher efficiency homes, preparing for organics collection, and transitioning to electric vehicles.”

The CCAP’s eight strategic focus areas—called Big Moves—target community GHG emissions sources primarily from transportation fuels; energy use in buildings; and waste by promoting low-carbon growth, sustainable transportation options, zero-carbon buildings, and a circular economy.

Some Big Moves will also increase our resilience to climate change (e.g. through local renewable energy generation and enhancing urban ecosystems). Municipal leadership on climate action is also highlighted, and work to decrease the carbon footprint of civic operations will spur the local green economy while increasing the efficiency of municipal services.

Achieving the CCAP’s targets will require effective implementation and contributions—large and small—from across the community. The plan includes short-, medium-, and long-term actions, and staff will now begin prioritizing short-term actions for consideration in the City’s budget planning process and Five-Year Financial Plan.

Implementing the CCAP is anticipated to generate many co-benefits, including improving air and water quality; creating a more connected, active, and healthy community; creating green jobs; and boosting the local economy.

The City thanks everyone who has taken time to learn about the CCAP and share their feedback. This input ultimately strengthened the CCAP and reflects the many voices heard throughout each phase of engagement.

June 25, 2021 - On Tuesday, June 29, 2021, City staff will be presenting the Community Climate Action Plan (CCAP) to Council for adoption.

This final step is based on the Committee of the Whole’s (COTW’s) direction. Following a presentation of the draft CCAP on April 20, 2021, the COTW provided feedback on the draft plan and directed staff to proceed with engagement before bringing the draft plan to Council for final review and adoption in June 2021.

Staff conducted a series of engagement activities on the draft CCAP in April–May 2021, as outlined in the Phase 4 Engagement Summary Report. The response to the draft plan was positive overall, with some suggested changes integrated into the final plan, as described in the Summary of Revisions document.

Residents are able to watch the presentation of the final CCAP to Council via Zoom on Tuesday, June 29, 2021. The Council meeting starts at 1:30PM.

Key documents:

• June 29, 2021, Report to Council
• Community Climate Action Plan
• Summary of Key Revisions
• Phase 4 Engagement Summary Report
  
  

The City would like to thank everyone who has taken time to learn more about the CCAP and share their feedback. This input ultimately shaped and strengthened the CCAP and reflects the many voices that were heard throughout multiple engagement phases.

April 23, 2021 - The Community Climate Action Plan project team has scheduled three virtual public engagement sessions to share highlights of the City’s draft Community Climate Action Plan (CCAP), which was presented to Committee of the Whole on April 20.

Virtual engagement sessions will be hosted via Zoom on the following dates (registration not required):

• Tuesday, May 4, 5:00–6:30 pm
• Wednesday, May 5, 6:00–7:30 pm
• Thursday, May 6, 12:00–1:00 pm
  
  

Links to participate will be available in the Upcoming Engagement section on this page.

Ahead of the session, attendees are encouraged to read the draft CCAP or view/download an engagement package, which summarizes some of the key information from the larger draft CCAP document.

During the virtual engagement session, staff will outline the Big Moves, the accompanying strategies and targets, and also share how the draft plan has evolved thanks to feedback from public engagement efforts in fall 2020. There will also be opportunities for questions and answers.

Following the virtual engagement sessions, staff will update the draft plan accordingly with feedback received from the public, as well as internal staff and external stakeholders, with a plan to present the final CCAP to Council for adoption in June.

April 16, 2021 - On Tuesday, April 20, 2021, City staff will be presenting the draft Community Climate Action Plan (CCAP) to the Committee of the Whole to seek Council's feedback on the plan's goals, targets, and implementation actions.

The report asks the Committee of the Whole to direct staff to:

1. engage with the public and stakeholders on the draft Community Climate Action Plan
2. bring the Community Climate Action Plan to Council for final review and adoption

Residents are able to watch the presentation to the Committee of the Whole via zoom at 9:00 am on Tuesday, April 20, 2021.

Should staff receive this direction, public and stakeholders will have the opportunity to provide feedback on the draft plan in late April/early May. Details will be available on Let's Talk. Staff will then incorporate feedback and present the final CCAP to Council for adoption.

Key documents:

• April 20, 2021 Report to Committee of the Whole
• Attachment A - April 2021 Draft of the Community Climate Action Plan
• Attachment B - Summary of Key Revisions
• Attachment C - CCAP Five-Year Financial Plan

October 13, 2020 - Phase 3 engagement activities have now concluded. We thank everybody who took the time to provide their feedback. The project team is now analyzing the results in preparation to present them to Council later this year.

Stay tuned to this website for additional future engagement opportunities, and subscribe to ongoing project updates from this page.

September 30, 2020 - Are you unable to attend any of the in-person open houses for the Kamloops Community Climate Action Plan, but want to receive an overview of the project and engage live with City staff on the plan’s draft policy options and actions?

Then join us on Thursday, October 8, 2020, 4:00–6:00 pm for a virtual engagement opportunity using Zoom, which will feature a presentation on the plan’s draft policy options and actions followed by a Q&A session with the project team.

Important event information:

• Please arrive online at least 5 minutes before event start time. Presentation will begin at 4:00 pm sharp.
• To avoid interruptive background sounds, participants will be muted upon entry.
• To facilitate meaningful discussions, you are highly encouraged to visit the ‘Document Library’ at Let's Talk Climate Action to review the eight ‘Big Moves’ and their associated policy options and actions prior to the webinar and come with your questions!
• If you have not yet participated in a Zoom webinar, please review this important information on how to watch or participate prior to attending this webinar.

To attend the virtual engagement opportunity, join via Zoom by clicking here on October 8, 2020 at 3:55 pm.

Note: Link will not work in advance of meeting start time.

September 14, 2020 - The City of Kamloops is seeking community feedback on the Community Climate Action Plan (CCAP), which is being developed to set the direction for reducing local greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and supporting a cleaner, healthier, lower-carbon future.

There are a number of ways for citizens, businesses, and organizations to provide input on the plan’s draft policies and actions, including an online survey and a discussion forum on this Let's Talk page.

The survey is open until October 12 and respondents can enter to win one of three BYO gift baskets—each including a $50 Downtown gift certificate.

There are also opportunities to learn about the project and share feedback in person at one of three open house events:

September 30, 6:00–8:00 pm
October 1, 1:00–3:00 pm
October 1, 5:00–7:00 pm

All three events will be held at the Kamloops Yacht Club at 1140 River Street. All provincial COVID-19 protocols will be followed. The event is a drop-in format, and the venue will be limited to 25 participants at any given time. Each event will begin with a half-hour presentation, but attending the presentation portion of the event is optional.

“We hope these community conversations provide a clearer picture of what a ‘made in Kamloops’ approach to tackling climate change looks like,” said Glen Cheetham, the City’s Sustainability Services Supervisor. “The actions identified in this planning process are intended to bolster our community response to the changing climate.”

Kamloops’ community GHG emissions come from three main sources (2017 data):

• Transportation 66%: fuels consumed by personal and commercial vehicles
• Buildings 29%: primarily energy used for space and water heating
• Solid waste 5%: decomposition of organic matter

To be in line with provincial, federal, and international commitments to keep global temperature rise to 1.5°C, each of these emissions sources needs to set a course to achieve reductions of around 80% from 2007 levels by 2050.

While there is urgency to act to achieve these global objectives, efforts to address climate change also result in positive changes closer to home. The many co-benefits include lowering household transportation energy expenditures; improving air quality; and promoting healthy, active lifestyles.