To improve energy equity in local communities, researchers from the University of Guelph lent their expertise to develop the Guelph Energy Equity Action Plan, ensuring everyone has access to the energy required to heat and cool their homes.
The action plan, designed to assist the 4,550 Guelph households who struggle with high energy costs, is a collaboration between U of G, the Guelph Lab, the City of Guelph and the University of Toronto.
“This work really reflects the value of community-engaged scholarship, research grounded in the lived experience and expertise of the people whom it supports,” says Dr. Derya Tarhan, co-principal investigator on the report and a professor in the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development in the Ontario Agricultural College.
“The plan is poised to make significant changes in advancing energy equity in Guelph for all,” Tarhan says. “It is about adequately heating and cooling your home, but ultimately, it is about removing undue hardship.”
Community engagement critical
Approximately one in 10 households across the city experience energy inequity. Climate change only exacerbates this, bringing longer heatwaves during increasingly hotter summers and colder days through the winter. By 2050, the number of days in Guelph in which the temperature rises over 30 degrees is expected to quadruple.
“It’s a major health concern,” Tarhan says. “Both physically and mentally.”
Many people in Guelph’s communities regularly have to make the decision to pay the energy bill by sacrificing their budget elsewhere, according to the research used to develop the plan.
Tarhan worked with the Guelph Energy Equity Community Working Group, which included nine Guelph residents who spoke to their experiences with energy cost, as well as key community organizations.
“The action plan built on the expertise of Guelph residents,” Tarhan says. “They helped us to understand energy inequity in Guelph and played a critical role in planning actions that address it. Tarhan says the combination of participatory policy making with research has a direct impact on the well-being of communities.
Action plan an evolving, dynamic resource
Dr. Craig Johnson, professor in the Department of Political Science in the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences, came to the project in an advisory role. He says in an election year with changes on the horizon for Guelph’s municipal leadership, including city staff in the project was also important to ensure continuity and commitment to seeing the plan through.
The action plan outlines steps to make energy more affordable, accessible and fair, including the development of an energy coaching program, expanding home energy retrofit programs, improving community outreach, adopting rental renovation and maximum temperature bylaws and expanding the monitoring and reporting of progress.
“Throughout the process, we remained conscious of finding realistic ways of reducing the obstacles some Guelph residents are facing,” says Johnson, adding people came to these discussions amid global challenges with inflation and rising prices due to overseas conflicts. The crucial piece now, he says, is for the plan to advance as the community’s needs evolve. “This is a living, dynamic resource.”
“The Guelph Energy Equity Action Plan is a great example of what is possible when teams come together from the public sector, academia and community to solve complex policy challenges,” says Elizabeth Jackson, co-director, Guelph Lab and director, Community Engaged Scholarship Institute at U of G.
“This is at the heart of Guelph Lab’s work: connecting people, ideas and expertise around big-picture policy challenges. We are grateful for the collaboration that made this work possible and look forward to seeing the plan move into action.”