Energy and Greenhouse Gas Inventory Available Online

In 2018, operations and services of the City of St. John’s consumed 365,624 GJ of energy, which emitted 12,457 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (tCO2e) - approximately 2% of the total emitted by the municipality overall.

This is one of the key findings in the City’s Energy and Greenhouse Gas Inventory, now available online.

“This energy and emission inventory estimates the energy use and GHG emissions generated by our organization and the community in 2018, our baseline year, that we will seek to improve,” explained Councillor Ian Froude, Council Lead for Public Works and Sustainability. “Now that we have set a reference point, we can identify significant sources of emissions and energy use and take action to reduce them. These efforts will improve our sustainability and resilience as an organization, and as a community.”

The City of St. John’s is part of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ (FCM) Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy in Canada and Partners for Climate Protection Program, which outlines a five-step Milestone Framework that guides municipalities as they improve sustainability and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“Completing this inventory helps us to achieve the first milestone in the framework,” explained Councillor Froude. “The next step will be to set a Climate Profile for the City to identify the hazards that climate change may bring, as well as a GHG emissions reduction target, both for our organization and for the community at large.”

The City of St. John’s will work in partnership with community organizations dedicated to mitigate and adapt to climate change through internal working groups, external multi-stakeholder committees and the Environmental and Sustainability Expert Panel.
 “We have received many applications from very well-qualified individuals for our Sustainability Panel and are currently working through the selection process with an announcement of membership to come shortly,” said Councillor Froude.

The City of St. John’s is committed to a city that is sustainable today and for future generations; economically, environmentally and financially. This project is identified in the Our City, Our Future Strategic Plan under the goal to be financially responsible and accountable and to  plan for land use and preserve and enhance the natural and built environment/ facilitate and create the conditions that drive the economy.