CROSS - BORDER KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE

Clean Air-Cool Planet received grant funding from the Oak Foundation to enhance cross-border support for municipal climate action. The goal of the project is to expose key Northeast US cities to Canadian cities addressing global warming, to facilitate an effective exchange of information, and to engage key communities in the Northeast in the implementation of strong climate protection programs. 

In May 2005, we brought representatives from 3 large cities including New York City, Boston and Stamford to Toronto, as well as representatives from 3 smaller communities – Portland ME, Guilford CT, and Maplewood NJ – to Fredericton, New Brunswick, to provide hands-on expertise from Canadian cities actively addressing global warming.

The City of Toronto is home to North
America’s first large-scale urban wind turbine.

In June of 2006, we brought representatives from six US cities back to Toronto, to visit with local officials and take part in the 2006 Smog Summit. Participating communities were Portland, ME; Boston; New York; Concord, NH; Montpelier, VT; and Nashua, NH.

The purpose of the trips has been to expose participants directly to projects, programs, and policies in Canada  – and most importantly, to the people who implement and manage them – which are delivering energy and cost savings, greenhouse gas emissions reductions, and other quality of life benefits to their communities.  This project is funded entirely through a combination of Oak Foundation grant support, CA-CP staff time and funding, and in-kind staff support from ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability.