We're Getting Greener

Fredericton Among Leaders in National Climate Protection Program

Fredericton, N.B. - The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) has named the City of Fredericton a national leader in the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) program. PCP is a partnership between FCM and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability.

Fredericton is one of only four Canadian cities to achieve the highest level of program requirements for greenhouse gas measurement and reduction in municipal operations. Whistler, B.C., and Edmonton and Calgary, Alta., are the nation’s other three leaders.

“Fulfilling the program requirements has had a dramatic impact on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions generated by our municipal operations,” said Chris MacPherson, Fredericton’s assistant city administrator, who has led the city’s environmental initiatives since the late 1990s. “In fact, between 2000 and 2008, our emissions decreased by 17 per cent as a result of the implementation of a number of aggressive emission reduction strategies, policies and practices.”

FCM President Basil Stewart, mayor of Summerside, P.E.I, points to Fredericton’s continued leadership over the past nine years as key to the city’s success.

“Since joining the program in 2000 and receiving a grant from FCM’s Green Municipal Fund, Fredericton has worked aggressively to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and build the capacity to continue this work for the long term. Today’s announcement acknowledges the city for its leadership and the results it has achieved.”

Fredericton Mayor Brad Woodside attributes this exciting achievement to the city’s long-held commitment to environmental sustainability in policy and practice.

“Environmental commitment is not new for Fredericton – more than a decade ago we began making decisions around how we would reduce our environmental footprint,” said Mayor Woodside. “These initiatives – from building retrofits, fuel reduction practices, new LED traffic signals and more – mean that today Fredericton is on track to achieve its 2010 goal of a 20 per cent reduction in municipally generated greenhouse gas emissions.”

Mayor Woodside points to the city-wide Green Matters campaign, launched by the municipality in 2007, as a public extension of a very successful municipal-operations-focused program to reduce emissions.

“Green Matters is building the same environmental commitment across the community, and I’m very pleased that citizens have taken up the challenge and are taking individual action to reduce emissions by doing things such as driving less, and using less energy and water.”

Sonya Hull, project manager for the city’s environmental programs, says, “We’re thrilled with the results for our municipal operations, and we’re anticipating more good news when community statistics on greenhouse gas emissions are released in the coming weeks. We’ve been very fortunate to have the support of the province’s Environmental Trust Fund to expand our community outreach around climate change.”  

About the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM):

FCM is the national voice of municipal governments, established in 1901, representing the interests of municipalities on policy and program matters that fall within federal jurisdiction. It fosters sustainable communities enjoying a high quality of life by promoting strong, effective, and accountable municipal government.

About the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) program:

The Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) program is a partnership between the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and ICLEI — Local Governments for Sustainability. PCP is the Canadian component of ICLEI’s Cities for Climate Protection™ (CPP) Campaign, which involves more than 900 communities internationally. In Canada, over 180 municipal governments are involved in the PCP program, which uses a five-milestone framework to guide communities in assessing and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

About FCM´s Green Municipal Fund (GMF):

FCM’s Green Municipal Fund™ (GMF) is a unique program that supports municipal initiatives across Canada that benefit the environment, local economies and quality of life. The Fund is a long-term, sustainable source of grants and below-market loans for municipal governments and their partners. The Government of Canada endowed FCM with $550 million to establish GMF.