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Barrie receives $325K in grants for greenhouse gas reduction work

Barrie's City Hall is in this file image. (CTV NEWS/Barrie) Barrie's City Hall is in this file image. (CTV NEWS/Barrie)
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The City of Barrie was awarded federal grants valued at $325,000 to assist in its efforts in energy conservation and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"This funding will help get us one step closer to achieving our plan of net-zero emission by 2050," said Adam McMullin, Energy Management. "The funding will make a huge difference as we work towards creating a more sustainable community."

Barrie will receive $200,000 from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) 's Green Municipal Fund's Community Buildings Retrofit.

The city is currently conducting greenhouse gas emission audits at ten city facilities. This funding will cover 80 per cent of the cost. These audits focus on existing and future building operations to reduce the facilities' energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

Barrie also recently received a grant of $125,000 from Natural Resources Canada's Zero Emission Vehicle Awareness Initiative, which helps fund outreach, education, and capacity-building activities.

Ultimately this is intended to allow greater adoption of zero-emission vehicles by Canadians in all regions of the country.

The funding will support the launch of a program called Electrify Barrie that includes a series of activities, including:

  • Raising awareness of electric vehicle (EV) and EV charging stations within Barrie
  • Conducting research to understand potential barriers to EV ownership and utilization
  • Assessing the current state of Barrie's EV charging stations
  • Hosting in-person education/awareness events

Barrie is undertaking several initiatives on climate action to meet broad sustainability goals. Initiatives apply to city operations and to support the needs of residents and businesses as we all work to transition to a low-carbon, net-zero realized community by 2050.

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