iclei great lakes
Climate change is already being experienced in communities throughout the Province of Ontario – flooding, extreme heat, changing water levels, and increased storms are only some of the impacts facing municipalities in Ontario and throughout Canada. Meaningful climate change responses draw on the skill-sets of many stakeholders and decision-makers, including municipal, provincial, and federal governments, private sector specialists, industry associations, planners, health professionals, and others; each stakeholder has a key role to play in mitigating the causes of and adapting to the effects of a climate change.

Under the Canada-Ontario Agreement (COA) Respecting the Great Lakes, the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change is supporting a project, led by ICLEI Canada, to increase climate change resilience for Great Lakes communities. Over a two-year period, ICLEI will engage approximately 30 communities in two projects aimed at building capacity on resilience planning and implementation:

 1. Training the Trainer: Engaging Stakeholders in Climate Change Assessments: This project, targeting 16 communities throughout the Great Lakes watershed, will help municipalities learn how to:
  • Use climate change modelling data to identify local vulnerabilities,
  • Assess and prioritize their risks, and
  • Begin developing adaptation plans.
2. Collaborative Implementation Groups: Working Together to Move from Planning to Action: This project, targeting 12 communities throughout the Great Lakes watershed, will help municipalities move from planning to action on
local resilience by:
  • Identifying implementation ready adaptation initiatives,
  • Securing funding for the initiatives,
  • Documenting key lessons learned via a case study series, and
  • Leveraging future activities in order to support the actual implementation of local initiatives.

Click here to learn more.