Climate Action

Provide feedback and ask questions of the Town by emailing ClimateAction@georgina.ca.

Learn more about flooding safety tips, water, wastewater and stormwater projects, environment and sustainability, and tree preservation. 

Refer to York Region’s Climate Change Action Plan and Climate Change and Health Vulnerability Assessment.  

Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority has a Mitigation Strategy and Adaptation Strategy for the Lake Simcoe watershed. 

Project introduction to Georgina Environmental Advisory Committee on May 7, 2024 - presentation

Project introduction to Georgina Environmental Advisory Committee on May 7, 2024 - briefing note

The United Nations definition of climate change provides a good explanation: “Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Such shifts can be natural, due to changes in the sun’s activity or large volcanic eruptions. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.

Burning fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket wrapped around the Earth, trapping the sun’s heat and raising temperatures.

The main greenhouse gases that are causing climate change include carbon dioxide and methane. These come from using gasoline for driving a car or coal for heating a building, for example. Clearing land and cutting down forests can also release carbon dioxide.”

Climate change impacts many aspects of life in Georgina and around the globe. The purpose of the Climate Change Action Plan is to better understand these impacts and plan accordingly. Some examples of what these impacts might be include: 

• Less predictable growing conditions for farmers (variable precipitation, temperature)
• More stormwater and extreme precipitation causing damage to buildings, roads and other infrastructure
• Impacts to physical health such as injuries during extreme weather events, heat illnesses and exposure to worsening air quality
• Impacts to mental health caused by feeling anxious, sad and/or scared about the future, or trauma from first-hand experience of extreme weather events
• Impacts on Lake Simcoe related to tourism, water level and quality and ice-free periods

Climate action is participating in any of the thousands of solutions to prevent or adapt to climate change on an individual or group level. These can be reducing your carbon footprint by driving an e-bike instead of driving a fossil-fuel burning car, writing green building policies, or advocating to preserve wetlands. Climate action can be in the form of mitigation, which means preventing future impacts by reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change. One example of this is increasing the energy efficiency of your home by installing a heat pump to replace a gas furnace. Climate action can also be in the form of adaptation, which means adapting to the impacts that climate change is already having such as strengthening the building codes to withstand more extreme weather. Many climate actions have co-benefits, which are benefits beyond reducing climate risk. For example: planting trees can provide habitat, food and prevent erosion in addition to absorbing carbon dioxide (mitigation) and providing shade (adaptation).

A Climate Change Action Plan is a document outlining priority actions on climate change. The plan will identify the greatest risks to Georgina from climate change and corresponding actions that can prevent or reduce that risk. The Town’s Climate Change Action Plan will include climate mitigation and adaptation actions for the corporation and the community at large.

During the 2023-27 Corporate Strategic Planning process, feedback from the public highlighted that taking care of the natural environment including Lake Simcoe is vital to community identity and well-being. The community emphasized the need to support Georgina’s resilience through environmental sustainability including preventing and adapting to climate change. Developing a Climate Change Action Plan was identified as a priority.

The main advantages of a Climate Change Action Plan are coordinating existing actions, strengthening partnerships, enhancing community engagement, and demonstrating leadership and vision on new initiatives. This will continue to make Georgina a great place to live, work and play. 

The Town will consult with a number of regional partners regarding climate risks and vulnerabilities, including the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation, Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority and York Region. Local community organizations and the public are also key informants to ensure the plan reflects a range of perspectives and realities, and will be engaged over the summer-fall 2024. 

There will be numerous opportunities for public engagement starting in the summer 2024. The project team will join existing community events to gather feedback, conduct public information sessions, and create an online and paper survey to ensure accessibility and representation.  If you would like to find out more about how you can be involved, email climateaction@georgina.ca.