Mitigation Action Plan
In 2019, The Town of Yarmouth made a successful grant application to Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) for a Climate Change Staff Grant through the MCIP grant program (MCIP) in the amount of $124,000. The MCIP was the first of its kind and was conducted on a national scale. There are 69 recipients across Canada involved in the current program.
The MCIP is a two-year program ending in February 2021. Through the Program, FCM's goal was to see municipalities like the Town of Yarmouth mitigate the impacts of climate change by reducing Green House Gases (GHG) through three key mechanisms:
1. Policy - FCM wants to see municipal units lead the way with specific actions that reduce GHG emissions
2. Human Resources & Governance – FCM wants municipal councils that understand the benefits of reducing GHG emissions and staff that are equipped to continually monitor progress on GHG emissions over time.
3. Technical Capacity – FCM wants tools and procedures in place to regularly collect and analyze data and GHG emissions that are reported publicly.
As part of the Town of Yarmouth's commitment to the MCIP program, the following requirements have been met:
- 2016 TOY Corporate GHG inventory (Baseline Inventory) – Completed 2019
- Internal Engagement on an Emissions Reduction Target - Completed 2020
- External Engagement on an Emissions Reduction Target - Climate Change & Greenhouse Gas Survey Completed 2020
- Mitigation Action Plan (MAP) - Completed 2021
At the February 11th, 2021 Council meeting the Town of Yarmouth approved the Mitigation Action Plan and the Town’s agreed upon greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 20% below 2016 levels by the year 2030.