In general, here in the Northwest Territories and more specifically, the Village of Ft. Simpson (pop’n ~1,200) where I live, the more practical/pragmatic approach is likely the approach that would have the best uptake. Many of the Community Energy Plans that were created for the 33 communities across the NWT (2004 – 2010) http://aea.nt.ca/communities identify short, achievable lists of “Recommended” & “Potential Future” Strategies.
With that said, a few NWT communities such as Whati and the capital city, Yellowknife, have created more detailed CEPs with Yk pursuing a “visionary” or aspirational approach with more specific emissions targets set within the details of the CEP and Whati identifying 7 pages of actions that target specific activities. Targets for the City of Yk operations were to reduce emissions by 20% (over 2004 baseline levels) and for the reduction of emissions for the entire community of Yk of 6% (over 2004 baseline levels) by 2014.
The Arctic Energy Alliance is interested in revisiting the CEPs that NWT communities created as part of the Integrated Community Sustainability Plans developed back in 2010 for Ft. Simpson, for example. Given that participation in these planning processes was tied to the receipt of gas tax funding, it appears that the community commitment to following through on the Recommended & Potential Future Strategies identified in many of the NWT CEPs may need to be revisited and sparked into action. It is also somewhat challenging for small, rural, remote communities to ensure that CEP strategies are followed-up on if higher turnover of Municipal & Band Councils as well as Senior Administrative Officers or Band Managers is the reality.
