Perth-Andover aims for net-zero carbon emissions by 2035

The Village of Perth-Andover is working to become the first net-zero municipality in the province by completely eliminating its corporate carbon emissions by 2035.

"We want to foster an environment where people are aware that climate change is important," said Dan Dionne, the village's chief administrative officer.

The tiny community of about 1,600 people just below the the fork of the Aroostook, St. John and Tobique rivers has borne the brunt of some pretty extreme flooding in ice jam situations during spring melts.

People in the community are acutely aware of the potential risks from wide temperature swings and heavy rain events associated with climate change.

"We realize, too, it's not just our community, but it's communities globally that are impacted by it."

Perth-Andover has joined a group called Partners for Climate Protection, which includes more than 300 municipalities in Canada.

It adopted an action plan in 2018 that sets a community target of a 17 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from a 2015 baseline by 2025 and a 34 per cent reduction by 2035.

For the municipal corporation, they're aiming even higher — a 50 per cent reduction by 2025 and total elimination a decade later.

"It's certainly a worthwhile cause and we want to have an environment where our children grow up in our community and they have learned the importance of climate protection. … I think in a lot of cases our teenagers are teaching us sometimes too."

The Village of Perth-Andover, the corporation, was responsible for about 87 tonnes of CO2 equivalent a year in 2015, according to its action plan.

The largest components of that were from the village's vehicle fleet and its buildings.

It's moving to more efficient heating and lighting systems and getting rid of some of its vehicles or replacing them with smaller more efficient ones, whenever possible.

The items in the action plan would cut emissions by 44.5 tonnes by 2025.

Further measures would have to take place in the next 10 years to get to net zero.

It may seem like a lofty goal, but Dionne said many people in the village feel it's possible.

"We've always been pretty keen on this type of thing," he said.

One thing the village has going for itself is its own electric utility, which is powered by a hydro dam.

Incorporated in 1905 and "still going strong," it's a point of pride for the village, said Dionne.

"We certainly are very fortunate that way."

Hydro dams may come with their own environmental issues, but they are technically considered green energy.

"That's certainly a unique advantage that Perth-Andover has over other areas," said Dionne.

Having their own utility gives residents of Perth-Andover a double incentive to be energy-efficient.

First, they save on their power bills when they use less power. Second, savings at the municipal level are put into community services.

For example, several years ago when municipal buildings were retrofitted to be more energy-efficient, the money that was saved on heating them was re-directed into recreation.

"We're a skate-and-swim-for-free community as a result of doing energy efficiency," Dionne said. "It was sort of a win-win situation."

Other proactive measures over the years have included giving hot-water-heater blankets and energy-efficient light bulbs to every residential property.

"It's just sort of a continuous improvement thing that we're always trying to do and hopefully always will."

There are 15 projects on the go right now. Village staff try to find the time to work away at them amid their other duties.

Dionne said there are great expectations of a new heat-pump rental program.

"We're sort of hoping that will provide some benefits especially for homes that potentially heat now with oil. That would be a big plus to get more people onto our green energy."

The village has also applied for federal funding for six electric vehicle charging stations and hopes to start an EV sharing program.

The electric vehicle would be available to community groups, for example, if they were travelling out of town for a meeting.

Other initiatives are aimed at getting homeowners to make changes ranging from renovations to using clotheslines.

Dionne expects good buy-in.

"People certainly are very proactive in these programs that we offer."

And he doesn't think efforts will fall off after this spring's municipal elections.

"It's pretty baked in. … If anything, I could see people getting elected that might be more keen on our targets and more aggressive on wanting to achieve them quicker," he said.

"We certainly don't see anyone coming in and being against the efforts to promote climate protection."