It’s been a long time coming, but the City of Grande Prairie has officially committed to the Partners for Climate Protection target of reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions in municipal buildings by 20 per cent by 2019.
While it’s an aggressive target, City Council feels it is achievable with a strong plan in place.
The City has actually seen its emissions increase by 42 per cent since 2009, largely in part from the opening of the Eastlink Centre in 2013.
But it has undertaken other initiatives like LED street lighting and Aquatera’s Bioreactor Landfill Gas-to-Energy Project will help municipal buildings on their way to their goal.
The wastewater treatment facility accounted for 38 per cent of emissions in 2009, but the technology that converts decomposing waste into heat an electricity is expected to greatly reduce that.
Once City staff figure out the best way to collect emissions data, an inventory and action plan will be developed.