Net-Zero Acceleration (NZA)

Net-Zero Acceleration (NZA)

During the 2023-24 fiscal year, the renewed focus on local climate solutions in GMF’s Three-year Plan led to a realignment of its existing funding offer in energy, land use, transportation, waste and water. In each case, the targets and criteria were re-imagined based on a multi-solving approach aimed at maximizing reductions in greenhouse gas emissions while strengthening community through a Reconciliation and AREI lens.

GMF has long aimed to provide innovative financing that eases the financial burden on municipalities, enabling them to undertake essential projects they couldn't fully fund on their own while also achieving cost savings through improved operational efficiency. GMF’s new Net-Zero Acceleration (NZA) offers are designed to emphasize some of the key areas where municipalities can have the greatest impact in rapidly reducing their emissions. This includes: 

• Retrofitting local buildings to improve their energy efficiency
• Building new net-zero municipal buildings
• Right-sizing and electrifying their fleets
• Converting organic waste to energy
• Adopting community energy systems that both increase energy efficiency and build grid resilience
• Developing net-zero energy solutions that are tailored to the needs and opportunities in their own communities

In more and more communities, the journey to net zero is revealing complex community needs, calling for new thinking and transformative solutions that extend beyond one-off projects—and beyond a sole focus on greenhouse gas emissions. Through this lens, it becomes clear that local governments are well placed to identify and develop projects that address multiple challenges in tandem, learn what works, then rapidly scale those solutions.

With this wider focus in mind, GMF launched its new NZA offer to fund innovative municipal solutions with potential to deliver meaningful impact at scale. While reducing life cycle emissions is its central mission, this revamped funding stream emphasizes projects that also deliver cost savings for municipalities, protect nature and improve biodiversity, conserve drinking water, foster community engagement and distribute benefits equally across the community—all to enable a transformation that is sustainable, equitable and accelerated. With over 20 years of experience supporting local climate solutions, GMF has built a solid foundation for scaling up practical, affordable initiatives that accelerate emission reductions and enhance communities' capacity to adapt to climate change.

How we build capacity: Strengthening municipal expertise with continuous learning opportunities

With every new project, GMF aims to build local capacity, share promising practices and spotlight opportunities for communities to learn from each other’s experience. Each of these essential functions maximizes the potential to accelerate local climate solutions across the country. In 2023-24, GMF’s monthly webinar program continued to inspire and engage communities across Canada by showcasing the innovative work of peer municipalities. The webinars attracted 1,675 participants and covered critical topics such as net-zero buildings, equity in municipal sustainability projects, and land-use planning. These sessions provided valuable insights, case studies, and expert advice, empowering communities to replicate successful initiatives and advance their efforts toward achieving net-zero targets.