
From Planning to Implementation: Overcoming Challenges in Local Climate Action
Part 4: Financial Barriers to Climate Action Implementation
January 13, 2025 | 1:00-2:00 PM ET
Financing is one of the most common challenges local governments face when looking to put their climate plans into action. Municipal governments are limited in the tools available to them to raise revenue, being largely dependent on property taxes, user fees, and funding from other levels of government. Though climate mitigation and adaptation will ultimately result in cost-savings for governments and residents alike, many projects require significant initial investment, which can be a deterrent for cash-strapped municipalities.
However, municipalities are also creating new and innovative solutions, creating taxation structures, working with new partners, and tapping into new sources of revenue. This webinar will feature a discussion of the range of different climate financing options available to municipalities, as well as a case study of one community’s successful approach to financing climate action.
Speakers
James Byrne, City of Peterborough
Will Cole-Hamilton, Federation of Canadian Municipalities
Will Cole-Hamilton lives in the unceded traditional territory of the K’ómoks First Nation in Courtenay, BC. He serves as a Councillor in the City of Courtenay, as Chair of the Comox Valley Regional District, and is also the Chair of the BC Caucus of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.