Yukon

Climate Change Action Plan

Yukon Legislature
Yukon Legislative Building, Whitehorse

“It is essential that we all prepare for the impacts of a warming climate”, says the Yukon government. “Climate change is real, and it threatens our forests, our watersheds, and our way of life”.

Released in 2009, the Yukon Climate Change Action Plan sets out how the Yukon government is responding to climate change. The Plan, providing clear direction and action, advances the goals of the Climate Change Strategy, which are to:

  1.  Enhance our knowledge and understanding of climate change,
  2. Improve our ability to adapt to climate change,
  3. Reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, and
  4. Lead Yukon action in response to climate change.

With respect to GHG emissions, the government’s goals for its internal operations are to:

  • cap GHG emissions in 2010,
  • reduce GHG emission by20% by 2015, and
  • become carbon neutral by 2020

No goal is set for the territory as a whole, but the strategy did include a commitment to:

  • Set a Yukon-wide emissions target within two years
  • Create a Climate Change Secretariat
  • Determine the potential of a Yukon carbon economy
  • Incorporate climate change considerations into government decision making
  • Create a community engagement forum

Reporting

In the  Climate Change Action Plan Progress Report , the government reports on efforts to understand, adapt to, and mitigate climate change.