Climate-Ready Plans and Processes

What we fund

We fund projects that enhance long-term climate resilience in communities equitably and inclusively, at any stage of their climate journey—whether they are starting out or need help advancing their plans. This funding is intended to support communities adapt for the impacts of climate change, by developing climate risk assessments and climate adaptation plans, which are critical for safeguarding infrastructure, protecting essential services, and ensuring the well-being of all residents.  

Developing a climate risk assessment helps identify community-specific vulnerabilities, such as flooding, extreme weather events, or urban heat islands, and allows municipalities to plan effectively and resiliently for these risks. A well-defined climate adaptation plan builds on this by outlining targeted actions to reduce the impacts of climate challenges, protect infrastructure like water management systems and energy grids, and enhance public health. Implementing these plans provides your community with a clear roadmap for addressing climate change and ensuring that all residents—especially those who are equity-deserving benefit from a more resilient, sustainable future. 

Your community can receive funding to develop plans that assess climate risks, integrate adaptation into existing municipal plans and processes, and engage with communities to ensure widespread climate resilience. Your plans should address multiple climate hazards and aim to create a path toward stronger, more adaptable communities.  

Climate-Ready Plans and Processes also funds complementary training and capacity-building opportunities to ensure your municipal staff have the skills and knowledge to implement effective climate adaptation measures.

With this funding, your municipality can develop a comprehensive, equitable climate adaptation plan. It empowers local governments to implement equity-informed, low-carbon, and nature-positive initiatives through the creation of climate risk assessments, adaptation plans, and the integration of climate adaptation into existing municipal plans. 

Why Develop a Climate Risk Assessment

Developing a climate risk assessment is one of the first steps in preparing for climate challenges. It allows municipalities to:

• Identify climate hazards, such as extreme weather events, heatwaves, flooding, and changes in seasonal patterns.
• Assess the vulnerability of essential infrastructure and services, such as water management, energy systems, and public spaces.
• Provide a data-based foundation for community-wide climate adaptation that ensures local governments can make informed proactive decisions to protect and improve infrastructure and build resilience that benefits all residents.

Why Develop a Climate Adaptation Plan

A climate adaptation plan takes the climate risk assessment a step further by outlining specific actions that municipalities can take to address the identified risks. These plans help municipalities:  

• Prioritize climate adaptation measures across various sectors within the municipality
• Integrate resilience-building strategies into existing municipal plans, such as asset management and land-use planning.
• Enhance community resilience by implementing solutions that reduce the long-term risks of climate-related hazards. 

What your project needs to achieve

To qualify for funding, proposed activities must support your community in implementing measures that reduce impacts from climate-related events and hazards. Your plan should:

• Identify vulnerabilities and risks from multiple climate hazards such as extreme weather events, flooding, heatwaves, and changes in precipitation patterns.
• Integrate with existing municipal plans, such as asset management plans, to ensure cohesive and sustainable climate adaptation efforts.
• Promote equity and inclusivity strategies that ensure equitable climate adaptation, particularly for marginalized and equity-deserving communities.  
• Enhance community resilience and result in tangible outcomes that improve the community's ability to withstand and recover from climate impacts.  
• Achieve measurable outcomes tied to your project’s objectives, including how it will reduce climate risks and benefit your community.

Eligible projects must also:  

• Incorporate new or updated phases to an existing climate plan or integrate results from a new climate risk assessment. (Note: Retroactive funding is not available)
• Be capable of completion within two years from the date of grant approval

Project examples

The following list of project examples demonstrate how Climate-Ready Plans and Processes can assist communities in developing equitable and sustainable adaptation plans. This list is not exhaustive, and we encourage municipalities to explore projects that align with their unique climate challenges and community needs.

• Climate risk assessment, including community, corporate services and asset systems  
• Vulnerability assessment
• Climate adaptation plan or strategy  
• Municipal home development standards for climate resilience
• Infrastructure design manuals and/or standards
• Hazard mapping
• Land use planning, including development restrictions and bylaw updates for climate resilience
• Asset management processes including levels of service, demand management, condition assessments, risk, and investment planning for climate resilience
• Natural asset management, including inventory, ecosystem service valuation, planning, lifecycle costing estimates updates for climate resilience  
• Procurement modernization to integrate climate change
• Climate lens on Council Memos development and training
• Reconciliation strategy, plans and initiatives

Eligibility requirements

Eligible costs

See the list of eligible costs.

Eligible activities

Eligible activities under the Climate-Ready Plans and Processes funding include but are not limited to:

• Conducting comprehensive climate risk assessments that evaluate multiple climate hazards and their potential community impacts.
• Development of climate adaptation plans that outline actions to mitigate climate risks and enhance resilience across various sectors within the municipality.
• Incorporating climate adaptation measures into existing or new plans  
• Capacity-building and training to municipal staff and community members
• Community engagement strategies to engage with community members, particularly those from equity-deserving groups, to ensure that climate adaptation efforts are inclusive and equitable.

Ineligible activities under the Climate-Ready Plans and Processes funding include:

• Climate disaster or emergency response preparedness. Projects should proactively address the impacts of climate change.

Required documents

To apply for GMF funding, you must submit:

• an application form
• a project workplan
• Climate-Ready Communities Assessment Tool
• all required supporting documents specified in the application guide

A GMF project officer will be your point of contact throughout the process and will review your file and provide feedback. You may be asked to revisit some steps to help you submit a complete and high-quality application.