Climate Action That Pays Off: How HalifACT Delivers Value for Halifax

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. It is about more than climate targets, however. At its core, it’s about:

• Being smart with tax dollars by lowering long-term costs and avoiding expensive emergency repairs;

• Protecting roads, buildings, and services from flooding, storms, and extreme heat;

• Public safety from wildfires and storm damage;

• Helping residents manage rising costs like heating, fuel, and transportation;

• Keeping Halifax a great place to live, now and in the future.

Let’s briefly take a look at these five points.

1.      Being smart with tax dollars:

Under HalifACT, the municipality is undertaking building retrofits that reduce energy usage and operational costs for its buildings, transitioning to electric buses and fleet vehicles, and working on nature-based infrastructure that is more cost-effective than upgrading stormwater pipes. The new fleet of electric buses alone is expected to save $1.4 million annually in maintenance.[1] Municipal building retrofits (like the Scotiabank Centre) are achieving energy reductions of 26%, while a home retrofit pilot program led to 57% reduction in energy use for participating residents.[2] Upcoming measures could even generate revenue for the municipality, such as solar energy generation at the Ragged Lake Bus Terminal.

Funding collected for HalifACT helps the municipality leverage millions in federal and provincial money at a ratio of almost 1:4, This means for every $1 HRM invests, $4 comes from the federal and provincial governments for transit and infrastructure. For the investment in the municipality ‘s 60 new electric buses, that translated into over $80 million in additional funding. 

HalifACT is also about significant cost prevention. Halifax’s financial disclosures show that the municipality incurred $22.7 million in direct costs from Hurricane Fiona, the 2023 wildfires, and flooding between 2022-2024.[3] Overall insured damages topped $1 billion. Every dollar Halifax invests today is an insurance premium that prevents the much larger tax of disaster cleanup that emptied the city's Risk Reserves in 2023. National studies have shown that for every dollar invested in preparing infrastructure for climate change, $13-$15 is saved in direct and indirect future savings.

2.      Protecting public safety

Haligonians remember all too well the devastating impacts of the Tantallon wildfires and flooding of 2023. HalifACT is the municipality’s only plan for funding the fire-buffers and flood-mapping that stand between our homes and the increasingly "unnatural" disasters we’ve seen in recent years. The municipality is also developing programs for residents to help with resilience at home, including flood prevention, heat safety and fire safety.

3.      Protecting roads, buildings, and outdoor recreation from flooding, storms, and other climate-induced changes.

The climate adaptation measures in HalifACT include protecting flood-prone and vulnerable infrastructure in HRM. For instance, under HalifACT, nature-based approaches were implemented to upgrade Shore Road, a key artery and evacuation route in Eastern Passage that has been frequently closed due to storm damage and flooding.

HRM also found innovative solutions to protect Cole Harbour Commons, which the municipality has had to rebuild yearly due to flooding. HRM is also working on solutions for known flood-risk areas, such as Inglis and Barrington streets in downtown Halifax.

HRM is working to preserve our access to lakes, as the municipality has seen a rise in summer-time lake closures due to algal blooms. Through the municipality’s Lakewatchers program, a part of HalifACT, work is underway to understand and prevent the algae clogging our lakes using nature-based infrastructure. Priority projects for the coming year include Penhorn Lake and Lake Banook.

4.      Helping residents manage rising costs

As part of HalifACT, the municipality is supporting residents to reduce their energy costs through measures like a deep energy retrofit pilot program for homes and support for solar energy. These programs increase home comfort, help residents transition away from oil, and lower energy bills. The Solar City Program supports local energy generation and is expected to help residents save $1.9 million annually in utility bills.[4] These measures also save us money by reducing our exposure to volatile global market for fossil fuels.

5.      Keeping Halifax a great place to live.

Taken together, HalifACT protects our quality of life through investing in resilient infrastructure, affordability and safer communities. It shows our youth that we are committed to their future while also managing the challenges of the present day.

With a growing population and global economic pressures affecting services and affordability in HRM, the municipality is working to meet the present and future challenges in the best way possible. The municipality’s climate change plan is central to this effort, already delivering tangible benefits such as cost savings, improved infrastructure, and support for residents, in addition to emissions reduction. By continuing to invest in resilience and sustainability, HRM is helping to ensure a safer, more affordable, and vibrant community for years to come.

[1] See Strategic Transit Projects – Rapid Transit Strategy and Electric Buses (2020), p. 17.

[2] See HalifACT 2024/25 Annual Progress Report p. 14.

[3] See HalifACT 2023/24 Annual Progress Report, bottom of p. 5.

[4] See bottom of page 15, HalifACT 2024/25 Progress report.