City of Yellowknife shares 10-year Climate Plan

The City of Yellowknife has finally shared the Climate Action Plan 2026-2036.

This plan is a decade-long strategy for the City to build partnerships with other leadership bodies to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Along the way, the City is expecting that this plan will provide better financial savings, stronger community connections, and more energy security.

The Climate Action Plan is structured around six crucial themes:

• Sustainable Transportation

The City estimates that nearly a third of Yellowknife residents did not have a Driver’s License in 2023, and suspects that the total number of residents who don’t drive is even higher. Therefore, the City will be looking into different ways to reduce emissions caused by everyday transportation, and provide greater accommodations for those who don’t drive through public transportation and low-emission fleet vehicles.

• Waste Management

In 2023, the City recorded that as much as 73% of Yellowknife’s GHG emissions were caused by solid waste. While controlling the exact amount of emissions from the Solid Waste Facility can be a challenge, the City’s approach is simple; reduce the amount of waste that ends up in the facility, and re-use the materials that can be re-used

• Resilient and Efficient Buildings and Infrastructure

The increasing frequency of climate emergencies in the North shows how vulnerable homes and businesses can be to physical damage. Therefore, the City will be researching how these structures can be redesigned with climate disasters in mind. This process can also create an opportunity to reducing GHG emissions from homes, such as turning away from oil heating and finding alternate solutions.

• Responsible Land Use and Planning

As Yellowknife has a number of areas comprised of vegetation and other natural elements, much of it is vulnerable to climate hazards such as wildfires and drought. The City will be researching nature-based solutions to planning and land-use, while also looking into improving local food production to help fight against the high food insecurity. Greater local food production would also reduce on the emissions that come from trucking food into the city from elsewhere.

• Governance and Accountability

Climate action requires a whole-of-government approach as it cannot be achieved by one single department. The ability to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change hinges on interdepartmental collaboration within the City, and between Indigenous governments and non-government organizations.

• Community Preparedness and Emergency Response.

The City will be working towards making sure that residents have more equal access to emergency resources when a climate disaster arrives. The same is being done for when Yellowknife becomes a fallback location for other communities.

Over the next 10 years, the City will work to implement the Plan as efficiently as possible. This will require collaboration and support across all City departments, the public, and partnership with the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) and local Indigenous governments.

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“Over the past several years, we’ve learned more about how climate change is impacting our city. We’ve created plans, taken action, and adapted along the way. As these changes increasingly touch our daily lives, our Plan continues to evolve, becoming more rooted in our reality, better suited to our northern environment, and more achievable through our collective efforts,” Yellowknife Mayor Ben Hendriksen said in a statement released with the Plan.

“This Plan is really about shaping our City’s future together. Each of us has a role to play. By acting collectively and with integrity, we strengthen our neighborhoods, protect our lakeshores and green spaces, and create a healthier, more resilient city for today and for future generations.

“The Climate Action Plan aligns with the Council’s Strategic Direction and our vision for 2050: a healthy, inclusive, and resilient Yellowknife that embraces sustainable growth, innovation, and well-being for all. I want to thank everyone who contributed their time, insights, and ideas. Our collective action today safeguards the experiences, places, and traditions that make Yellowknife home.”

The City’s full 10-year plan can be found here.