On March 29, 2018,
the Government of Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) announced new funding to help municipalities take action on climate change and resilience.
FCM's climate change staff grants provide funding to supplement the salary of a new or existing municipal employee who will work on initiatives to improve adaptation to local climate change impacts or reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These grants of up to $125,000, disbursed over two years, help municipalities address staffing gaps and produce lasting improvements in their operations related to climate change.
Staff grants can help municipalities make progress on climate change activities, including conducting research; creating GHG inventories; preparing climate adaptation or GHG emission reduction plans; and implementing operational changes to reduce vulnerability to climate change impacts.
Individual municipalities with populations below 150,000, or a partnership of multiple communities are the target recipients of the funding. Climate change staff grants are intended to enable action by addressing the barrier of inadequate staff resources to manage climate change related initiatives especially in smaller and medium sized communities.
Staff grants are offered through the Municipalities for Climate Innovation Program, a five-year, $75-million program designed to encourage Canadian municipalities to better prepare for and adapt to the new realities of climate change as well as reduce GHG emissions. The program is delivered by FCM and funded by the Government of Canada.
For links and contact information, go to the Federation of Canadian Municpalities website.
