Mitigating the impacts of Climate Change: Clarington launches new Community Electric Vehicle Report

Clarington, Ontario – The Municipality of Clarington is launching a new Community Electric Vehicle (EV) report, developed in partnership with Trent University – Durham Campus. The EV report contains 13 recommendations for Clarington to consider, which are founded on best practices to support public buy-in for EVs.

The recommendations include actions the Municipality can take to promote widespread EV use in the Municipality. They include developing a work plan to encourage community uptake for EVs and building on existing Municipal goals and policies. Among the recommendations is a robust communications plan to encourage EV ownership while building a partnership with local dealerships. Developing EV infrastructure is a central component in several recommendations. This includes phasing in public EV charging stations and encouraging builders to incorporate EV infrastructure in new developments. Establishing EV infrastructure location and accessibility as well as a comprehensive service plan is also recommended. Read the EV Plan for the Municipality of Clarington: Research and Recommendations Report for a full list of the recommendations and the research involved.

“I want to thank the students for their hard work in developing this comprehensive EV report for Clarington. This is just one more tool that we can use to mitigate the impacts of climate change and encourage our community to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Clarington Mayor Adrian Foster.

“I'm proud of our students. They had a chance to contribute to their community and work on a meaningful, timely, and relevant project—and they made the most of it. Along the way, they got to develop skills that are durable and transferable, in writing and research and project management. Thanks also goes to the Municipality of Clarington, for allowing us to work on this project. I'm thrilled with yet another example of Trent Durham's work in the community,” said Dr. Joel Baetz, Assistant Professor with Trent University Durham.

Trent University students developed the EV plan and corresponding report as part of a  capstone course in the Communications and Critical Thinking program. The recommendations in this report will be used to inform Municipal decision-making regarding Clarington’s role in promoting EV use within the community. The Community EV report was developed in tandem with Clarington’s Corporate Climate Action Plan (CCAP), which will identify actions that the Municipality can take to reduce corporate greenhouse gas emissions and lessen the risks of climate change to the Municipality.