The City of London is crowd-sourcing a plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and curbing climate change.

In late December, the city announced the release of its Climate Action Plan Simulator, an online tool that lets participants build their own action plans for the community and share ideas with the municipal government.

The simulator guides participants through different ways London can take city-wide action, such as building retrofits, transportation choices and reducing waste. With each action, participants develop a road map to reach the city’s goal of reducing current greenhouse gas emissions by about 1 million tonnes, or 30 percent below current levels. The city aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Input shared through the tool will be used to help develop London’s Climate Emergency Action Plan.

“The new Climate Action Plan Simulator allows Londoners to see in real time the impact different actions might have, and how they can be used together to respond to climate change,” said Jamie Skimming, manager of community energy initiatives at the City of London. “As we develop our community’s Climate Emergency Action Plan this winter, we are continuing to explore new ways we can engage Londoners to collect ideas and feedback.”

The City of London has partnered with the non-profit eDemocracy Network to build and use their Climate Action Plan Simulator online. London will be one of the first Canadian cities to use this digital platform in developing a Climate Emergency Action Plan.

“London is building an important response to climate change,” said Ben West, executive director of eDemocracy Network. “This new online tool lets Londoners engage from home and help develop the actions we can take together to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions."