The City of Fredericton continues to make significant progress towards implementing actions across its three climate plans while navigating the impacts of extreme weather from climate change.
The city’s work is guided by the Climate Change and Adaptation Plan, the Community and Energy Emissions Plan and the Corporate Energy and Emissions Plan.
“Fredericton continues to lead by example as we make notable investments in flood resiliency, planting more trees than ever before, mitigating emissions increases while enhancing service delivery and shifting corporate energy use towards renewable sources” said Councillor Kevin Darrah, chair of the Environmental Stewardship standing committee. “This is only the beginning, more work and a continuous commitment is required to meet our climate action goals and mitigate the impacts of climate change to ensure a livable community into the future.”
An annual update on the city’s ongoing work was presented at the Environmental Stewardship standing committee and is available online.
Key work completed in 2025 includes:
• Delivering over $30,000 in grants to community groups working on climate action
• Significant investments in stormwater upgrades to reduce localized flooding
• Hosted successful backyard and vermicomposting workshops, attended by 235 people
• Increased the amount of electric and hybrid vehicles in the city fleet
• The addition of 2.2 kilometers to the city’s active transportation network
• Enhanced transit availability through Sunday service and midday half hour service
• Planted more than 1,300 trees along streets and trails
• Installed solar panels at the city’s southside operations centre on Regent Street
• Updated the Green Building Guidelines
• Made significant progress on the city’s Transportation Study and Integrated Mobility Plan
• Introduction of a Furit Fruit Forest in Wilmot Park
• Continued management and preparation for impacts from invasive species
• Significant amount of multi-unit housing starts within the growth boundary
The City of Fredericton currently is slightly off track to meet the corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions goals, and emissions are 30 per cent below the 2004 baseline. With dedicated action from provincial partners implementing clean energy policies and plans to electrify the power grid, the city’s corporate goal of reducing emissions by 50 percent by 2030 remains achievable.
Community GHG emissions goals are 7 per cent below the 2000 baseline, a trajectory that is not consistent with achieving our near-term targets. However, per capita GHG emissions are down 43 per cent. The biggest challenge for reducing community emissions remains transportation.
“On the municipal level we must continue to create active transportation opportunities, encourage home energy efficiency, enhance resiliency towards extreme weather and reduce waste while navigating Fredericton’s record population growth” added Darrah.
Progress on climate action faced widespread challenges over the past year due to sociopolitical changes but support remains strong among Canadians. This year the city will be refreshing its Adaptation and Mitigation plans to meet provincial requirements, reflect updates to global climate models, and undergo third‑party reviews of greenhouse gas inventories and model pathways.
As that process unfolds, there will be public engagement sessions held in the latter half of 2026 with updates plans going to City Council for consideration in early 2027.