WHAT WE DO

International accords - though essential - have proved insufficient to achieve reduction targets. Citizens, businesses, and civil society actors must step up to support a just transition.

Launched in 2017, the Community Climate Hubs program, therefore, focuses at the local level, where risks of a changing climate (floods, heat-waves, etc.) and rewards of reducing pollution (air quality, cost savings, etc.) are most tangible. We support citizen-led, grassroots organizing at the local level, in the form of Community Climate Hubs, pushing folks to raise the climate ambition in their municipalities across the country.

The Community Climate Hubs program delivers the support and structure to grassroots groups that may not be as easily available to them, notably due to capacity reasons. The Climate Reality Project Canada provides invaluable administrative support and the creation of quality resources so that people with boots on the ground can focus on what’s important: pushing the climate movement forward with their campaigns.

By connecting and supporting 20-30 Hubs across the country, the program offers a unique bird’s-eye-view knowledge of what is happening locally across the country, everywhere from small towns to major cities. This knowledge is used and shared across the network, allowing connections to be made between people and Hubs doing similar work as one another, connecting experts in areas on which Hubs are working, and having fast access to the latest resources and organizational prowess.

The Community Climate Hubs follow a decentralized model, recognizing that successful approaches will vary based on local regions and community contexts. Hubs are encouraged to follow common main goals such as:

1. Help unify voices around a shared vision for decarbonization and advance their communities along the milestone process set out by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
2. Obtain municipal commitments to net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner and ensure communities are on track to reaching their target without leaving anyone behind.
3. Ensure that their cities not only work to decarbonize, but do so in a way that champions building equitable, climate-resilient communities in the process.
4. Connect and facilitate a local network of people and groups who are working towards building sustainable, liveable communities in order to help share resources, streamline efforts and cultivate the potential for collective action