Municipal climate planning is an inherently interdisciplinary exercise. To be effective, it must cut across most - and probably all - facets of municipal operations. In addition, it must involve stakeholders in the community that currently work with Municipalities to deliver key services such as social welfare and environmental protection. Municipal units and community stakeholder groups may or may not have developed a plan for climate action (mitigation or adaptation); even where these exist, they are often siloed rather than coordinated. Identifying “points of contact” across Municipal units and community stakeholder groups, and aligning visions and action plans early in the planning process should allow more time for resolving conflicts and leveraging synergies, leading to more effective climate change planning and in turn lower-carbon and more resilient communities.

This Crosswalk Document is a framework to assist municipal planners and stakeholder groups in the process of identifying those points of contact and identifying possible conflicts and synergies across Municipal departments on the topic of climate and energy planning. It is designed for use as a platform for stakeholder discussions, and as a central “information hub” where stakeholders can access and review information between meetings.  The original intent was for use in the areas of climate- and community energy planning; however, it could be adapted to other purposes like developing transportation, economic growth, or waste management strategies.

The Crosswalk document itself can be downloaded here.

We have also produced a spreadsheet that you can use to organize and interpret the information necessary to implement the Crosswalk, here.