Climate Change Overview
Climate change requires action on two fronts; adapting to the impacts of a changing climate as well as mitigation of emissions to lessen further changes. The Town of Portugal Cove–St. Philip’s is committed to climate action in terms of both adaptation and mitigation.
FoodCycler™ Pilot Program
Did you know that french fries can be used for plant food? With the Food Cycler pilot program, residents of Portugal Cove – St. Philip’s can tackle food waste and discover what foods can become plant food, by piloting FoodCycler™ technology in your home.
The Program Results
The Food Cycler™ pilot program provided the opportunity for residents of Portugal Cove – St. Philip’s to purchase a Food Cycler™, at a significantly reduced cost. Participating residents were asked to track their use once a week for 12 weeks and then answer a brief closing survey.
View the final findings of the pilot program here
Climate Change Mitigation:
To facilitate the mitigation of future emissions, the town of PCSP has joined the Partners for Climate Protection Program (PCP) through a collaboration between The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI Canada).
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Climate Change Adaptation
The Town of Portugal Cove – St. Philip’s recognizes that the climate is changing. Global climate change has local impacts, and while it is important to continue to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to avoid catastrophic levels of global warming, it is also important to proactively adapt to the impacts of climate change both now and in the future.
As such, the Town of Portugal Cove – St. Philip’s has joined two climate adaptation initiatives; the Adaptation Changemakers project, a two-year initiative lead by ICLEI Canada that supported eight municipalities across Canada in developing a community climate change adaptation plan, as well as the Engaging and Supporting Municipalities to Build Capacity to Adapt to the Impacts of Climate Initiative, a program supporting municipalities in reducing their vulnerability to the Impacts of climate change, in partnership with Conservation Corps Newfoundland and Labrador (CCNL) and funded through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).
In 2020 the Town of Portugal Cove – St. Philip’s completed both its Climate Change Adaptation projects with assistance from the Government of Canada, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and Conservation Corps Newfoundland and Labrador. These reports outline potential risks and suggested actions to increase the Town’s adaptive capacity to the impacts of climate change. These actions have been referred to a number of municipal departments and organizations within the Town for further development, costing, approvals and implementation.
The reports were based on available data from The Climate Atlas of Canada Tool, Environment Canada’s Climate Change Data and Scenarios Tool, and a Climate Change Projections Study commissioned by the Government of Newfoundland in 2018. An infographic of projected changes for Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s is provided below.
Nature and Environment
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