Timely collective action needed to keep the city safe, livable and resilient
Guelph, Ont., May 28, 2025 – A new City report is calling on the Guelph community to take climate action to reach net zero carbon by 2050. The Community Call to Climate Action report and backgrounder share our current progress, future goals, and steps needed to get there together.
“Guelph is already facing hotter summers, longer heatwaves and more severe weather with climate change,” says Bryan Ho-Yan, Manager of Energy and Climate Change. “When we work together, we reduce our collective carbon footprint. We all need to act where we live, work and play to build a more sustainable and resilient Guelph.”
The Community Call to Climate Action shares steps that people, builders, companies and the City can take to reduce emissions:
- Homeowners — use heat pumps instead: Have 40,000 homes in Guelph change their heating systems to low-carbon heat pumps.
- Vehicle owners — walk, bike, bus or switch to an electric car: Replace 60,000 fuel-dependent vehicles with electric ones or other sustainable travel modes.
- Builders — build net zero carbon buildings: Design and build all new buildings to be more energy efficient and net zero carbon.
- Companies — work together to be more energy efficient:
- All industrial companies in Guelph must work together and focus resources to reduce sector emissions by 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e)
- All commercial and institutional companies in Guelph must work together and focus resources to reduce sector emissions by 100,000 tCO2e
- City — manage fugitive emissions: Manage and maintain fugitive emissions from waste management and wastewater treatment.
Empowering the community to help create a sustainable city is a key objective in the Future Guelph Strategic Plan. The Community Call to Climate Action supports this important work, inviting everyone to do their part to reach Guelph’s climate goals.
Collective actions recommended through the report are also intended to drive meaningful progress towards the City’s climate targets to:
- reduce community carbon emissions by 63 per cent against the 2018 baseline by 2030
- become a net zero carbon community by 2050
To read the report and learn more, visit the Energy and Climate Change page on guelph.ca.
Resources
- May 27, 2025: Staff report to Council
- Community Call to Climate Action: Report
- Community Call to Climate Action: Backgrounder
Media Contact
Meagan Ellison
Communications Officer
Strategic Communications and Community Engagement
City of Guelph
(226) 821-0298
[email protected]