18 groups receive funding to battle climate change
Islanders are hard at work coming up with innovative ideas to adapt, mitigate and raise awareness about climate change, with help from provincial funding.
The Climate Challenge Fund has provided $1 million annually to help organizations develop innovative solutions to address climate change, including funding for 18 new projects this year.
“From converting gas vehicles to electric to exploring energy self-sufficiency for Abegweit First Nation, Islanders are keen to pitch in on the climate challenge ahead of all of us. Government is pleased to provide over $1 million in funding for these ideas to support the actions in our Climate Adaptation Plan.”
- Environment, Energy and Climate Action Minister Steven Myers
The goal of the Climate Challenge Fund is to empower people of different backgrounds, experiences, and expertise, who work across sectors and in different communities throughout the Island, to contribute to climate action in any or all of the following areas:
- adapting to projected impacts of climate change;
- reducing greenhouse gas emissions;
- increasing opportunities for carbon sequestration (the removal and storage of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere);
- building capacity and resilience through public outreach and education; and/or
- expanding climate change research and knowledge.
“The Climate Challenge Fund is an excellent source of funding to develop climate-smart best management practices to promote sustainable agriculture on PEI and beyond. Climate research, innovation, and scientific evidence are key to implementing climate-friendly solutions in order to achieve NetZero targets,” said Aitazaz A. Farooque, Professor & Associate Dean (Interim) of the Canadian Centre for Climate Change and Adaptation and School of Climate Change and Adaptation. “Research funding streams, like the Climate Challenge Fund, are important for capacity building among our undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and research staff, which ultimately increases public awareness about climate change, its mitigation, and adaptation.”
The Climate Challenge Fund has supported 43 projects prior to 2023, for a total of over $3.3 million across sectors and organization types, including First Nations, municipalities, nonprofit organizations, local businesses and academic institutions. Government will be calling for more applications later in 2023.
Media contact:
Katie Cudmore
Environment, Energy and Climate Action
katiecudmore@gov.pe.ca
Backgrounder:
| Applicant | Project Title |
| Green Learning Canada Foundation | Engaging PEI Youth in Local Climate Change Actions |
| Abegweit First Nation | Best practices mission to explore a path to energy self-sufficiency for Abegweit First Nation to support generations to come |
| PEI Potato Board | Measuring impacts of seed sensing technology on meeting PEI’s Net Zero goals and agronomic performance in PEI potato production |
| UPEI - Yulin Hu | Solar energy-driven hydrogen production from water splitting |
| UPEI - Stephanie Shaw | Holistic exploration of the sustainable use of biomass as an alternative for fossil fuels on Prince Edward Island |
| Upcycle Green Tech | Electric Converted and Remanufactured Vehicles |
| STEAM PEI | PEI Sustainable Energy Education for Grade 6 Youth and Teachers |
| PEI Sheep Breeders Association (PEISBA) | Parasite Resilient Sheep |
| Native Council of Prince Edward Island | Climate Hazards: Preparing for our Future |
| UPEI - Patrick Augustine | Siawa'tmnej L'ney Kjijitaqn Project (meaning: pass on L’nu knowledge from generation to generation) |
| PEI Coalition for Women in Government | Empowering Women Advocates for Climate Resiliency |
| Gulf Shore Community Health Corporation | Children- and Youth-powered community and environmental resilience |
| PEI Cultural Human Resources Sector Council Inc. (CreativePEI) | Climate Artist-in-Residence Program |
| UPEI – Nadja Bressan | Immersive Environment for Climate Change Adaptation |
| Farm Centre Association | Therapeutic Horticulture: an innovative solution to the threat of climate change |
| Maritime Electric Company, Limited | Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for Electrical Grid |
| Kensington North Watersheds Association Ltd. | Addressing Coastal Erosion in Kensington North using Nature-Based Climate Change Adaptation- Living Shoreline Demonstration |
| UPEI – Aitazaz Farooque | Monitoring and Modeling Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Face of Climate Change for Sustainable Crop Production in Prince Edward Island |