Climate change is a reality that our community is currently facing. Already, we are seeing how climate change impacts our local infrastructure, economy, and well-being. The City of Niagara Falls is taking a proactive approach to reducing the impacts of a changing climate and extreme weather on the community’s built, social, natural, and economic systems by guiding the development of a Climate Change Adaptation Plan.

Our adaptation planning process is supported by ICLEI Canada https://iclei.org/ and a core team out of our Municipal Works Department and the Mayor and CAO’s Office.

The work undertaken, along with measures that will be implemented once this project is completed, will help the City minimize the negative impacts of climate change by addressing local risks while seizing any local opportunities to increase resilience.

City Departments and community partners have provided input into developing an Adaptation Plan for the whole community from February to August 2023. A draft plan has been developed that will help prepare us for a changing climate and build local resilience.

Check back here over the coming months to participate in the following:

• Developing a vision and goal-setting survey
• Review of the draft Adaptation Plan
• A Community Launch Event

Update: February 9, 2024

The City of Niagara Falls Climate Change Adaptation Implementation Plan was unanimously approved by City Council, in September 2023.

The City team wishes to thank ICLEI Canada, the public and members of our Climate Working Group throughout the community for the time and effort they spent establishing this plan and creating the 41 climate goals and 89 sub-goals. This framework will offer a road map that will guide the City and our partners in the coming months and years to better prepare for and mitigate climate change effects in Niagara Falls.

Looking ahead, the City is establishing an internal “green-team” to steadily move forward on the 41 climate goals for Niagara Falls. Some efforts will be focused on internal systems, others will involve organizational partners, and some, whole-community participation. The trajectory of positive climate adaptation in our community depends on everyone’s support and a continued, dedicated effort to move forward.

View the City's plan in the Important Documents section.

Update: August 24, 2023

The City took a proactive role in convening project stakeholders from across the community to collaboratively create a Plan that will increase the adaptive capacity of Niagara Falls to the impacts of our changing climate.

The Plan development process began in February of this year and followed ICLEI Canada’s BARC (Building Adaptative and Resilient Communities) Milestones 1-3 process, which has been used in hundreds of Canadian Municipalities. Climate projections and data guided the project working group to identify and prioritize which climate change impacts Niagara Falls was most vulnerable and at highest risk to.

A vision, goals and actions were then collectively identified by the project working group and members of the business community to address the impacts Niagara Falls is already or predicted to experience. Community and business members can provide general feedback as well as consider opportunities for engagement with the Plan’s implementation. Comments and feedback on the plan are welcomed on or before Tuesday, September 5, 2023.

Actions within the Plan primarily address adapting to climate change, but also include some first key actions related to mitigating climate change (reducing greenhouse gasses), and working to avoid the unmanageable. Adaptation includes preparing for extreme weather such as floods and extreme heat. The prioritized action details in the Plan lay out the framework that will move this community project from the planning stage to the implementation phase over the coming 5 years.

The draft plan will soon be brought to City Council this Fall.

View the draft plan here.

Public Open House - Tuesday, July 25, 2023, 4:30 - 6:30 pm

MacBain Community Centre - 7150 Montrose Road.

Thank you to all those who attended!

Update: June 15, 2023

A Niagara Falls climate change working group was established in February of this year, consisting of a dedicated network of community members, organizations, City staff and stakeholders. The working group has met for three in-person work sessions and has done additional online survey work, being guided through the process by ICLEI Canada.

The group has:

• Analyzed climate science projections
• Identified impacts to the community
• Refined and prioritized using both a vulnerability assessment and a risk assessment
• Identified the vision, goals and actions that address the prioritized impacts in order to build resilience to climate change in Niagara Falls

The project has also included engagement with the business community, which came together at a Climate Business Breakfast to share insights and concerns that will be a part of the analysis. The event featured a talk from Dr. Blair Feltmate, head of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation.

The next steps include:

1. A presentation to Senior City Staff
2. Prioritizing the long list of actions and developing implementation details will create the backbone of the Plan

The draft Climate Change Adaptation Plan will be completed mid-summer, at which time the public will be able to view the draft Plan. It will be brought to Council soon thereafter.

About ICLEI Canada

ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability is a global network of more than 2,500 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development. Active in 125+ countries, they influence sustainability policy and drive local action for low-emission, nature-based, equitable, resilient and circular development.

We want to hear from you!

To learn more or get involved, please get in touch with Carey Campbell at ccampbell@niagarafalls.ca or leave a question or comment below.

Thank you!