We’re recruiting 12 more New Brunswick municipalities looking to better their energy emissions futures!

Press Release

Aug 14, 2025

New Brunswick – QUEST Canada invites 12 more small and mid-sized municipalities across New Brunswick to join the Atlantic Net-zero Communities Accelerator (NCA) program to create or update their Community Energy and Emissions Plans (CEEPs).

Eligible applicants include local governments – Indigenous, municipal, regional or a group of small municipalities/bands – or others applying on behalf of a local government or a group of local governments (e.g. a local energy distributor or not-for-profit organization).

Why participate?

• Communities directly and indirectly account for 51% of GHG emissions.
• For every % of reduction in community energy use, more dollars are kept in the local economy
• With a CEEP in hand, your community will have a clear, actionable GHG Reduction Plan that will:
  • Identify practical actions to save energy and money;
  • Strengthen your community’s resilience to extreme changes in the climate;
  • Position your municipality to access funding for climate and energy projects;
  • Build capacity to integrate climate priorities into land use planning and infrastructure, and,
  • Signal to residents, businesses, and investors that your community is forward-thinking and taking action.

You’ll receive

1 – Energy Mapping Workshop: An interactive session engaging community stakeholders to share knowledge, discuss, and identify local opportunities in energy, efficiency, renewables, waste, transportation, and land use.

2 – Action Strategies for CEEP Development Workshop: A collaborative session where participants review proposed action strategies, discuss additional ideas, and assign each a lead, priority level, timeframe, and estimated cost.

3 – CEEP/GHG Reduction Plan Recommendations Report: A published deep dive into local emissions reduction opportunities, and priorities – used to obtain Milestone 3 of the FCM-ICLEI Partners for Climate Protection Program.

4 – Peer-to-peer working group webinars and 1:1 coaching: Ongoing opportunities to share experiences, challenges, and solutions.

5 – Success Stories: We’ll feature your achievements through QUEST’s Powered by Communities series, to raise your profile, and inspire others.

6 – Help with GNB portal reporting: We’ll assist you with preparing and submitting your GHG Reduction Plan progress reports via the provincial NBG online portal.

7 – CEEP Course for Planners: Training on integrating energy and climate policy into land use planning, engaging stakeholders, and advancing community energy plans with economic benefits.

Cost to participate

Program participation fees are based on population. Indigenous communities are exempt from paying program fees.

Municipal staff time requirements

Expectations of participating municipal staff include sharing relevant information with NCA program staff, coordinating the set up and communication of onsite mapping workshops, receiving, reviewing, and approving the recommendations report, subscribing to program e-news and receiving email updates, participating in virtual (or in-person) meetings and webinars.

To apply

If your municipality or group of municipalities is interested in joining the Atlantic NCA program, please write to QUEST Canada’s Lead, Projects, Norma Panetta at: npanetta@questcanada.org, with the subject line ‘New Brunswick NCA Expression of Interest’, and include:

1. Municipal name, address
2. Website URL
3. Main contact, title, division/department
4. Size and population of Municipality(s)
5. Does your community have an integrated community energy and emissions plan? (If yes, please attach.)

Not yet ready to commit?

We’re also seeking 3-5 municipalities to make a Community Commitment in Principle – a promise to work towards the development of a Community Energy Emissions Plan in the next 1-2 years.

Deadline

This Atlantic NCA Program Call for Expressions of Interest closes Friday, October 31, 2025 @ 5:00 pm Atlantic Time.

Questions?

Please send a quick email to QUEST Canada’s Lead, Projects, Norma Panetta at: npanetta@questcanada.org

More helpful QUEST Canada NCA program webpages:

• Net-Zero Communities Accelerator Program
• New Brunswick Community Energy and Emissions Plan Resource Hub
• New Brunswick Smart Energy Communities Accelerator (NB SECA) Pilot Program

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