How can municipal staff coordinate emissions reductions across all departments and all operational decisions? The GHG Calculator for Municipalities is a free tool that municipal staff can use to understand the climate impact of their decisions. The tool, which is a Microsoft Excel add-in, can help integrate climate assessments into project and policy decision making processes.  This tool was designed by SSG together with the City of Calgary, Region of Durham, and City of Ottawa so that they could quickly understand the greenhouse gas implications of policies and decisions, such as ..read more

Canada needs 5.8 million new homes to restore affordability, according to Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). With new construction, come new greenhouse gas emissions. Without strong climate policies, these new homes could lock in 142.7 megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually, according to research by the Federal Task Force for Housing and Climate. That’s equivalent to consuming an additional 330,000 barrels of oil per year (1).  Denser developments So what can cities do? Jeremy Murphy, an urban planner and Principal at SSG, suggests policies focused on density. Home ..read more

Despite record growth in renewables, fossil fuels supply close to 80% of global energy and many wealthy countries are lagging on renewable energy development. At the same time, the UN Secretary-General is calling for these wealthy countries to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040—a goal that will require quickly scaling up renewable energy. So, what will it take to achieve this goal and what can communities do about it? Updated Guidance on Climate Action Targets Wealthy countries must transition to 100% renewable energy generation in the power sector by 2030 and economy-wide by 2040, according t ..read more

“Living Solutions” is a series which focuses on how SSGers are taking climate action in their personal lives. In Canada,10% of total emissions comes from burning fossil fuels for space and water heating in homes and buildings. Shifting to hybrid water heaters and heat pumps can reduce emissions from heating and cooling; but it’s not always easy to make the switch. In this third installment of our Living Solutions series, one of our colleagues takes us on their hybrid water heater installation adventure.  We hope this will provide a bit of insight and inspiration for your own climate actio ..read more

SSG’s climate action planning projects are delivered by an interdisciplinary team of consultants. While each new SSG consultant will have specific expertise and skills that they bring to the role, SSG consultants will eventually play a wide-ranging role in leading and supporting project delivery. This includes everything from building relationships with clients to data analysis and interpretation to report writing.  OUR COMMITMENT TO EQUITY SSG celebrates diversity and strives to participate in restorative justice, in part by implementing just recruitment practices. We encourage applicati ..read more

Inflation Reduction Act funding has spurred climate action across all levels of US government. The White House has issued a memo detailing how climate-economic modeling can improve in order to support more effective climate action decision-making.   The memo’s six recommended improvements are spot on. Based on our experience conducting modeling for over 100 climate action plans across the Americas, we’ve identified the same areas of improvement and integrated them into SSG’s modeling tools. Here’s a breakdown of the memo’s recommendations and how we’ve considered them.  Include ..read more

How can municipal staff coordinate emissions reductions across all departments and all operational decisions? The Clean Air Partnership and SSG will be hosting a free webinar on Wednesday, January 24 at 1:00 PM ET to introduce the GHG Calculator for Municipalities, a free tool municipalities can use to understand the climate impact of their decisions. The tool was designed by SSG together with the City of Calgary, Region of Durham, and City of Ottawa so that they could quickly understand the greenhouse gas implications of policies and decisions, such as instituting a composting program or adop ..read more

COP 28 wrapped up in Dubai last week with a commitment from countries worldwide to transition away from fossil fuels. The agreement marked the first one in which fossil fuels—the cause of climate change—were explicitly acknowledged. To say it’s a bit late to acknowledge the role of fossil fuels is an understatement. Indeed, most of the local governments SSG works with are among cities worldwide that made climate emergency declarations recognizing the cause of the climate crisis years ago. Countries Formalize The Role of Cities in Climate Action  Cities continued to push for urgent climate ..read more

Though the headlines on Montreal’s 2024 budget released in November focused on property tax hikes, it also included something more transformational: the City’s first climate budget (also known as a carbon budget). The budget, which sets a cumulative cap on Montreal’s emissions out to 2050, is designed to act as an accountability tool for Montreal’s Plan Climat, a community climate action plan with key actions to reduce emissions for the whole island of Montreal. By requiring City Council and staff to consider climate change in all investment decisions, the budget has the potential to push clim ..read more

In 2022, Chile passed the Climate Change Framework Law requiring every region and municipality to develop a plan to hit net-zero emissions by 2050. But faced with the enormity of this task, where are regions and municipalities to start? Working with the Inter American Development Bank, we developed Planning Climate Action in Cities and Region, a guide for local governments in Chile and beyond (available in Spanish here). The guide details how cities and towns can take immediate action to curb greenhouse gasses while developing a long-term action plan. This approach is critical for limiting the ..read more