$530M fund helps cities adapt to climate change, but Guilbeault suggests more money is needed

Even as he acknowledged it falls short of what local governments are asking for, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault announced Monday a new federal fund with more than half a billion dollars to help municipalities adapt to climate change.

Guilbeault announced that communities can now apply for their share of $530 million in funding set aside to help their efforts to adapt to a world of higher temperatures and more frequent severe storms — efforts that are likely to continue even if the world's economies significantly cut their carbon emissions.

The minister's office is calling the federal investment «one of the largest ever» in climate adaptation. The money is flowing through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' (FCM) Green Municipal Fund within the Local Leadership for Climate Adaptation stream.

Guilbeault said he knows the money in the fund — the first such dedicated adaptation fund for municipalities — is well short of the $10 billion over a decade that the FCM requested.

«Half a billion is not $10 billion. But it is not nothing,» he said.

«It is a strong commitment on the part of our government to work with our partners in municipalities and the FCM to help our communities be more resilient.»

The money can be used by municipalities to develop risk assessments and feasibility studies for proposed projects.

Municipalities can also apply for grants of up to $1 million for shovel-ready projects, such as fire breaks to control wildfires, artificial wetlands to prevent flooding, urban tree planting to help shade community streets, and cooling centres.

By 2031, FCM estimates the fund will have supported more than 1,400 municipal projects.

Tim Tierney, the third vice-president of the FCM and an Ottawa municipal councillor in