City council has approved the Community Energy and Emissions Plan (CEEP) and has directed staff to move on with next steps.

Jennifer Babin-Fenske, co-ordinator of EarthCare Sudbury Initiatives for the City of Greater Sudbury, provided an update for councillors on Tuesday night. She said the CEEP has five goals: to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce energy use, lower costs, mitigate risk, and improve quality of life.

In June 2017, the city was directed to develop a CEEP with the goal of becoming a net-zero emissions community by 2050. But it’s a lofty goal. In 2016, the city generated 1.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

The CEEP made it abundantly clear that space heating and transportation are the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). As such, the biggest impact Sudburians can have is to alter their modes of transportation and increase the energy efficiency of buildings, especially residential buildings, Babin-Fenske said.

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