City of Edmonton Carbon Budget
Edmonton applies a climate lens to decision-making
Client
City of Edmonton
Population
980,000
Schedule
2019-2020
The Problem
The City of Edmonton adopted the first carbon budget in North America, capping the amount of greenhouse gas emissions the community could emit—ever—in line with the international goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Now, Edmonton needed a mechanism to help it stay on track.
The Problem
How could Edmonton account for greenhouse gas emissions in day-to-day operational decisions?
176 Mt
Edmonton’s carbon budget
0 Mt
Edmonton’s 2050 carbon target
The Solution
SSG developed a carbon accounting framework for the City of Edmonton to embed consideration of greenhouse gas emissions into capital and operating decisions.
The framework includes a standardized method for the city to account for greenhouse gas emissions, a carbon budget methodology, a climate lens to evaluate the greenhouse gas impact of decisions, and a carbon budget management office. The carbon accounting framework has become the third leg of the City’s formal budgeting process. Edmonton reported on its progress in November 2022, releasing the first municipal carbon budget report in Canada.
The Outcome
Edmonton’s Carbon Budget was groundbreaking:
1st
municipal carbon budget in Canada
200+
budget requests evaluated for GHG impacts
5
steps to implement the carbon budget
See Edmonton’s Carbon Budget for more details.
Outcome
Key Takeaways
We can use Edmonton’s first-ever Carbon Budget to help inform the provincial and federal governments of what we are doing to reduce our GHG emissions, transition to greener modes of transport, and upgrade our city’s buildings to better energy standards.
Amarjeet Sohi,
Mayor, City of Edmonton
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