Feds give Edmonton $22M to build ‘urban climate centre’
Funds will go toward Alberta Ecotrust, push businesses to invest in clean energy
EDMONTON Edmonton will receive $22 million to form an “urban climate centre” in the city, federal Minister of Natural Resources Amarjeet Sohi announced at city hall Thursday.
The funding from the federal government will go to the Alberta Ecotrust Foundation, a Calgary-based charity, to create programming that will incentivize businesses to decrease carbon emissions and invest in clean energy.
The announcement is part of the federal government’s Low Carbon Cities Canada project, which will create seven climate centres across the country. Centres already announced in Toronto and Halifax received $40 million and $18 million, respectively.
“The LC3 centre isn’t a centre so much as an opportunity for us to work with the City of Edmonton to accelerate and scale local projects that are in-line with the city’s energy transition strategy,” said Pat Letizia, the executive director of the Alberta Ecotrust Foundation.
Specifically, Letizia says the centre will work on projects like retrofitting energy efficient infrastructure in commercial and residential buildings and creating jobs from low-emission initiatives.
Sohi says the announcement is part of the Trudeau government’s plan to combat the devastating effects of climate change. He says he thinks the government is doing enough in its efforts to curb the country’s impact on the environment.
“We all know that climate change is having a significant impact on our communities,” he said. “We hope that Canadians will continue to push their leaders to take a strong stance on climate change.”