As Halifax plans for the future, it’s important to revisit the value of the municipality’s climate action plan.

Halifax Acting on Climate Together (HalifACT), developed in the wake of Council’s unanimous declaration of a climate emergency in 2019, is the municipality’s plan to mitigate the worst effects of climate change and prepare the city for the impacts of a hotter, wetter and wilder climate.

HCi3 has made its largest investment to date through a $1,000,000 equity investment in biotech company Oberland Agriscience Inc., supporting their production of low carbon, high-value animal nutrition, and insect-derived fertilizer known as frass.

We are excited to launch a new initiative at HCi3: Accelerating Electric Vehicle Infrastructure in Nova Scotia. This strategic program is made possible through generous support from the Trottier Family Foundation, in partnership with the Clean Economy Fund, and with support from RBC

We’re excited to announce our final grants for 2025. These six projects will help communities move towards low-carbon solutions while improving affordability, enhancing emergency preparedness and building the local economy. From scaling low-carbon modular housing to advancing deep retrofits in African Nova Scotian communities, each one offers a meaningful step forward for local climate action.

If Canada is to meet its climate target of net zero emissions by 2050, accelerating the pace of building retrofits is a critical element to success. Financing is one of the main barriers to undertaking retrofits. Through a survey, interviews and literature reviews conducted last year, HCi3 confirmed that Atlantic Canadian building owners face similar challenges to other building owners nationally in financing upgrades.

For those who follow the news on climate action, it can feel pretty gloomy right now. Climate change is dropping as a priority as inflation, the housing crisis, and political and economic instability occupy our attention. But there is a different story we can tell.  There are positive trends both close to home and beyond our borders and incredible local climate leaders whose actions we can celebrate and support.  

We're thrilled to welcome four outstanding projects to our growing network of grantees. From financial innovation in low-carbon housing to real-time marine emissions tracking and revitalizing rural community spaces, these initiatives are pushing the boundaries of local climate innovation.

We are now accepting expressions of interest for our 2025 grant program.

HCi3 has concluded its first impact investment with a $500,000 loan to the ReCover Initiative in support of its Atlantic Canada Deep Retrofit Accelerator.

HCi3 has made four grant awards in support of clean transportation in HRM/Kjipuktuk as part of its 2024 granting program. HCi3 funds projects that lead to greenhouse gas emissions reductions while also contributing to social equity, reconciliation, and community benefit. 

On July 18, 2024, the Government of Canada announced an award of $16.5 million to ReCover to implement DRAI in Atlantic Canada between 2024 and 2027.

In May of this year, Nova Scotia saw its first ever Youth Climate Pitch Competition, co-hosted by Tribe Network and HCi3. Read more about how the competition went, and who the cash prize!

The Province of Nova Scotia contributes $7.5 million to HCi3 in support of local climate action through Nova Scotia’s Climate Change Plan.

HCi3 awarded $500,000 through the Accelerating to Zero Grant program to support 14 climate action projects across Halifax/Kjipuktuk.

HCi3 has received a grant of $740,000 over five years from the McConnell Foundation to support climate solutions that advance social equity and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

The HCi3 Fund has awarded grants to local organizations to implement projects that focus on GHG reductions and demonstrate a commitment to equity and community benefits.

Climate change is the greatest long-term threat that we face as a global community, but it is also our greatest economic opportunity.

Nova Scotia announced $15.7 million in new funding for efficiency programs.

With the increasing urgency of the climate crisis, it’s out with incrementalism and in with big investments.

FCM’s Green Municipal Fund (GMF) Council has created a new committee to advise the Council on matters related to the Low Carbon Cities Canada (LC3)-FCM initiative.