Huron County has joined the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Partners for Climate Protection program.
The goal of the program is to provide a forum for municipal governments to share their knowledge and experience with other municipal governments on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The PCP program began in 1994 with the goal of empowering municipalities to come together to take action against climate change.
Huron County Climate Change and Energy Specialist Lillian Hamlin said the framework of the program includes creating a greenhouse gas inventory, setting emission targets, developing a local action plan, implementing the plan and then monitoring the plan over time.
"The county's responsibilities within the program are to implement the five milestone framework within 10 years of joining, submitting progress reports at least once every two years and being willing to participate in any activities and acknowledge sharing with other municipalities across Canada," she said.
Hamlin added there is no cost involved in joining the program and it is not legally binding, so there is no penalty for failing to meet targets. Hamlin said as far as she's concerned, there is no downside.
"You get access to a ton of resources and online tools and sharing with other municipalities, so I foresee just benefits of the program," she said. "I don't foresee any negatives, especially if the county decided at some point they no longer wanted to continue, they always have an opportunity to leave the program."
Huron County council agreed and approved the motion to join the program.
