People urged to measure impact they have on environment in Mississauga
Published April 23, 2024 at 10:38 am
Mississauga residents are being encouraged to learn what impact they have on the environment in their daily lives.
With Earth Week 2024 recognized yesterday in Canada’s seventh-largest city, across the country and around the world, City of Mississauga officials said it’s a good time for people to take stock of their carbon footprint.
An online tool developed a couple of years ago can help them do just that, the city added.
“Join us in protecting the environment and fighting climate change,” city officials said in a post to social media on Monday, adding people can quickly gauge their carbon footprint online.
In partnership with Project Neutral, a Toronto-based online group that seeks to educate people on their daily choices and how they impact the environment, Mississauga launched the online carbon footprint calculator for city residents back in late 2021.
A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions that each person emits through their daily activities.
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By calculating their footprint, residents can better understand where their carbon emissions come from and what impact they have on the environment, city officials said earlier, adding the calculator supports Mississauga’s Climate Change Action Plan by engaging residents in climate change action.
Mississauga’s goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the city by 80 per cent by 2050, with a long-term aspirational goal of becoming a net-zero community.
“As we move forward with our Climate Change Action Plan, it’s vital that we all take the necessary steps to modify our lifestyles to be more sustainable and reduce our negative impact on the environment,” the city said earlier, adding people can consider riding their bikes over taking the car, shopping locally and making their homes more energy efficient.
The Project Neutral carbon footprint calculator assesses people’s home energy usage, transportation habits, food patterns and waste generation, city officials say. It also provides a detailed breakdown of household climate impact, along with a comparison to other Ontario households.
The City of Mississauga conducts a similar calculation each year and reports its carbon footprint to the Carbon Disclosure Project, a global initiative that tracks such information from municipalities.
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