Climate Action Plan

Integrated Community Sustainability

Charlottetown’s climate is changing. Increased temperatures, flooding, sea level rise and coastal erosion are examples of climate change impacts that will influence our community’s health and wellbeing, environment, and economy. Climate change effects us all, but we know that the impacts are not felt equally amongst all communities, with disproportionate consequences for communities that are already vulnerable due to systemic inequities.

In response, the City of Charlottetown has created a Climate Action Plan. The Plan will help the community build resilience to the impacts of climate change and extreme weather, while also reducing our contribution to global climate change through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The Climate Action Plan contains goals and actions that will provide direction for the next five years, at which time it will be reviewed and updated.

Click here to see the completed Climate Action Plan.


Additional Project Details

Phase One

Phase One of the climate action planning process launched in January 2023 and was completed in April 2023. In this phase, we gathered early input from the community, key stakeholders, and rightsholders to better understand how climate change and extreme weather have impacted Charlottetown. We also conducted background research and municipal benchmarking to better understand gaps in Charlottetown’s knowledge as well as how our climate action efforts compare to other Canadian municipalities.

The results of Phase One have been compiled in a Final Report. The findings of this report are being used to inform Phase Two of the project.

The Phase One Final Report was presented virtually to the public in April 2023. The recording of that presentation can be found here.


Phase Two

Informed by the findings from Phase One, Phase Two of Climate Action Plan development included additional studies and community engagement as well as the creation of the Plan itself .


Studies and Reports

As a component of Plan creation, various studies have been undertaken to ensure the Climate Action Plan is informed by the most recent and relevant data possible. This has involved the compilation of a Future Climate Projections Report for Charlottetown as well as the completion of an updated Community Greenhouse Gas Inventory. In addition, a Climate Vulnerability and Risk Assessment was completed and resulted in the creation of a list of high priority climate impacts for Charlottetown, available here.


Collaboration

To guide this phase of work, the City participated in ICLEI Canada’s Building Adaptive and Resilient Communities (BARC) program and QUEST Canada’s Net Zero Communities Accelerator (NCA) program. These two programs act to guide municipalities through climate adaptation and mitigation planning, respectively, providing access to tested planning frameworks as well as extensive program staff expertise and support throughout the process.

The City also formed working groups composed of over 65 individuals representing various community organizations, City departments, and public interest groups that will weighed in on the planning process each step of the way.


Community Engagement

When it comes to tackling climate change, all voices need to be part of the conversation.

Extensive community engagement has taken place throughout this project to better understand resident priorities and the public’s vision for success. The first round of engagement took place between April and June 2024 in collaboration with numerous community organizations to invite more voices into the conversation. This included in-person events and an online survey through which participants had the opportunity to provide input and feedback to inform the vision and actions included in Charlottetown's Climate Action Plan. A summary of this engagement can be found in the Phase 2 What We Heard Report.

Based on the input received from the public as well as the project's working group, draft Goals and Actions for inclusion in Charlottetown's Climate Action Plan were created. These draft Actions were available for public review and input from October 22 to November 17, 2024. In addition to the opportunity to provide input online, a drop-in event was held on November 13, 2024. This event allowed community members who prefer to provide in-person input to review the draft goals and actions and to speak to City staff leading this work.

With this information collected in this final round of community engagement, City staff worked to finalize the Climate Action Plan goals and actions as well as establish timelines, targets, and key performance indicators.


City Council Adoption

Charlottetown's Climate Action Plan was presented to City Council and formally adopted on April 8, 2025. The completed Plan can be accessed here.

With the Plan officially in place, staff will begin taking steps towards its implementation. Check back on this page for additional updates on progress made.

Charlottetown’s climate is changing. Increased temperatures, flooding, sea level rise and coastal erosion are examples of climate change impacts that will influence our community’s health and wellbeing, environment, and economy. Climate change effects us all, but we know that the impacts are not felt equally amongst all communities, with disproportionate consequences for communities that are already vulnerable due to systemic inequities.

In response, the City of Charlottetown has created a Climate Action Plan. The Plan will help the community build resilience to the impacts of climate change and extreme weather, while also reducing our contribution to global climate change through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The Climate Action Plan contains goals and actions that will provide direction for the next five years, at which time it will be reviewed and updated.

Click here to see the completed Climate Action Plan.


Additional Project Details

Phase One

Phase One of the climate action planning process launched in January 2023 and was completed in April 2023. In this phase, we gathered early input from the community, key stakeholders, and rightsholders to better understand how climate change and extreme weather have impacted Charlottetown. We also conducted background research and municipal benchmarking to better understand gaps in Charlottetown’s knowledge as well as how our climate action efforts compare to other Canadian municipalities.

The results of Phase One have been compiled in a Final Report. The findings of this report are being used to inform Phase Two of the project.

The Phase One Final Report was presented virtually to the public in April 2023. The recording of that presentation can be found here.


Phase Two

Informed by the findings from Phase One, Phase Two of Climate Action Plan development included additional studies and community engagement as well as the creation of the Plan itself .


Studies and Reports

As a component of Plan creation, various studies have been undertaken to ensure the Climate Action Plan is informed by the most recent and relevant data possible. This has involved the compilation of a Future Climate Projections Report for Charlottetown as well as the completion of an updated Community Greenhouse Gas Inventory. In addition, a Climate Vulnerability and Risk Assessment was completed and resulted in the creation of a list of high priority climate impacts for Charlottetown, available here.


Collaboration

To guide this phase of work, the City participated in ICLEI Canada’s Building Adaptive and Resilient Communities (BARC) program and QUEST Canada’s Net Zero Communities Accelerator (NCA) program. These two programs act to guide municipalities through climate adaptation and mitigation planning, respectively, providing access to tested planning frameworks as well as extensive program staff expertise and support throughout the process.

The City also formed working groups composed of over 65 individuals representing various community organizations, City departments, and public interest groups that will weighed in on the planning process each step of the way.


Community Engagement

When it comes to tackling climate change, all voices need to be part of the conversation.

Extensive community engagement has taken place throughout this project to better understand resident priorities and the public’s vision for success. The first round of engagement took place between April and June 2024 in collaboration with numerous community organizations to invite more voices into the conversation. This included in-person events and an online survey through which participants had the opportunity to provide input and feedback to inform the vision and actions included in Charlottetown's Climate Action Plan. A summary of this engagement can be found in the Phase 2 What We Heard Report.

Based on the input received from the public as well as the project's working group, draft Goals and Actions for inclusion in Charlottetown's Climate Action Plan were created. These draft Actions were available for public review and input from October 22 to November 17, 2024. In addition to the opportunity to provide input online, a drop-in event was held on November 13, 2024. This event allowed community members who prefer to provide in-person input to review the draft goals and actions and to speak to City staff leading this work.

With this information collected in this final round of community engagement, City staff worked to finalize the Climate Action Plan goals and actions as well as establish timelines, targets, and key performance indicators.


City Council Adoption

Charlottetown's Climate Action Plan was presented to City Council and formally adopted on April 8, 2025. The completed Plan can be accessed here.

With the Plan officially in place, staff will begin taking steps towards its implementation. Check back on this page for additional updates on progress made.

  • CLOSED: This survey has concluded.

    Climate Action Discovery Survey

    Welcome to the City of Charlottetown Climate Action Discovery Survey!

    The City of Charlottetown declared a climate change an emergency in 2019 to recognize the ongoing and future consequences of a changing climate on our community and the broader global community. We are taking action and would like to hear from you.

    The City of Charlottetown is undertaking Phase One of its Climate Action Plan – the Discovery phase. This phase is about understanding how climate change affects Charlottetown and what climate action is currently taking place in Charlottetown and around PEI. We will compare Charlottetown’s climate action with similar municipalities, establish community priorities, consolidate available climate-related data and initiatives, and identify gaps for further investigation. 

    As a community member, we want to hear from you about how climate change affects you, what climate change initiatives you are currently undertaking, and how the City of Charlottetown can support climate action moving forward. Your input will inform the key themes and actions explored in Phase Two, which will involve the full development of the Plan. The Climate Action Plan will address both climate change adaptation (i.e., managing the impacts of climate change) and mitigation (i.e., reducing greenhouse gas emissions) and will be developed throughout 2023 with an anticipated release in early 2024. This survey is intended as a pre-engagement. Further opportunities for engagement will be conducted throughout the second phase of the project.

    Hard copies of this survey may also be picked up at the Charlottetown City Hall reception desk (199 Queen Street) between 8am and 4:30pm Monday to Friday. To make alternative arrangements to receive a survey, please email Katrina Cristall at kcristall@charlottetown.ca or call 902-566-5548 to request a printed copy.

    What to expect

    This survey is organized into the following sections:

    1. An introduction to the climate change challenge.
    2. Questions about how climate change affects you, existing climate change initiatives you are a part of, and what you’d like to see in the City of Charlottetown’s Climate Action Plan.
    3. A bit about you, so we understand who is providing feedback and who we haven't heard from.


    Estimated time: 15 – 20 minutes


    How your input will help shape the Climate Action Plan

    Your feedback from this survey will help us identify key themes and opportunities for inclusion in the Climate Action Plan and will inform our approach to developing the Climate Action Plan in Phase Two of the project as well as conducting future engagement.

Page last updated: 09 Apr 2025, 04:18 PM