Environmental Plans & Strategies
Hamilton's Climate Action Strategy - Priority Focus Areas
The Office of Climate Change Initiatives (OCCI) is responsible for facilitating and monitoring the overall implementation of Hamilton’s Climate Action Strategy. This includes tracking progress made by City departments and divisions, as well as progress made by the broader community.
Priority Focus Areas
The OCCI has established five Priority Focus Areas, presented to the General Issues Committee in April of 2023 in order to guide the implementation of Hamilton’s Climate Action Strategy.
Climate Change Initiatives Steering Committee was established in 2023. This committee is made up of City Directors from across the corporation, with a central mandate to facilitate corporate-wide monitoring and centralized reporting on progress with city-led actions in Hamilton's Climate Action Strategy.
Extended Leadership Group (not yet established). This internal committee will be made up of managers and other relevant staff from key departments and divisions responsible for implementation of city-led Climate Action Strategy actions.
Community Climate Change Advisory Committee was established in 2024 to provide advice to Council and City Staff on the prioritization, implementation and monitoring of Hamilton’s Climate Action Strategy, through an equitable and inclusive manner and a climate justice lens, that responds to the perspectives and needs of all, while transitioning to a prosperous, healthy and vibrant net zero greenhouse gas community that is a national leader in climate adaptation.
OCCI Staff are developing a Climate Communications & Engagement Strategy with both external and internal components. The goals of the strategy are:
- To raise awareness about the climate crisis in Hamilton with the goal of mobilizing action.
- To raise awareness about the City's climate leadership, significant actions, and innovations happening through the Hamilton’s Climate Action Strategy.
- To promote key programs and opportunities.
- To center climate justice throughout our communications and engagement.
- To celebrate and highlight stakeholder/community-led achievements.
- To provide a platform for two-way communication on climate issues with the public.
- To align with other relevant City communications & engagement strategies.
In 2023, the City finalized an updated 4-year agreement and partnership with the Bay Area Climate Change Council (BACCC), the multi-stakeholder organization supported by the cities of Hamilton and Burlington to facilitate regional solutions to climate issues. The City provides BACCC with both financial and in-kind staff resource supports each year.
OCCI Staff are developing the scope of work for Hamilton’s Carbon Accounting and Budgeting Framework, a multi-phase and multi-year initiative that includes three main pillars of work:
- Pillar 1: Net Zero Calculations and Support Policies - to calculate Hamilton’s community and corporate ‘fair-share’ finite carbon budget that aligns with the 1.5 degrees Celsius global warming target.
- Pillar 2: Protocols and Processes - to establish clear and easy to understand, publicly transparent protocols and processes that provide the City of Hamilton with the ability to align budget and planning processes with its finite carbon budget.
- Pillar 3: Tools and Resources - to support City staff, Council and community efforts to implement the Carbon Accounting and Budgeting Framework. This will include tools/resources for quantification, analysis and reporting.
More information will be provided under the Programs and Initiatives section when available.
The Better Homes Hamilton pilot project provides property owners low barrier access to upfront capital for them to retrofit their homes, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve energy efficiency, and live more comfortably. Through a rigorous application process, 50 Hamilton homeowners were selected to receive a zero-interest loan for up to a maximum of $20,000 for energy efficiency home improvements paid back via a local improvement charge through their property tax bill over a 10 to 15-year repayment term. Eligible property types are single detached houses, semi-detached houses, and town homes.
Development of an Energy Performance/Net Zero Standards for all new City of Hamilton facilities is being pursed in close collaboration with the Corporate Facilities and Energy Management Division. The goal is to have a new Energy Performance/Net Zero Standards created – including a plan for funding any additional costs associated with constructing buildings to this standard submitted for Council approval in 2025.
Hamilton’s Climate Action Strategy sets the ambitious goal of seeing 50,000 trees planted each year across the municipality.
To meet this goal, the City has committed to:
- directly plant 20,000 trees by our Forestry and Horticulture Division
- free tree giveaways to Hamilton residents
- Forestry-facilitated community tree planting events on city property
The Office of Climate Change Initiatives is creating a system to track the tree planting undertaken by community stakeholders, to evaluate our community’s success in realizing the annual 50,000 tree target.
Conversations are underway with several key community partners to establish plans for amplifying efforts to green heavily urbanized areas through ‘depave’ projects and other innovative approaches.
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