Climate equity
What is climate equity?
The effects of climate change - like heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and flooding - don’t affect everyone equally. Factors such as gender, race, income, ability and family structure can influence how well a person can protect themselves and contribute to our collective efforts to combat climate change.
The Calgary Climate Strategy – Pathways to 2050 includes 'equity and inclusiveness' as one of the overarching principles.
The main areas of the Climate Strategy to improve equity are to:
- Help Calgarians who have trouble heating and powering their homes.
- Help people and communities become more resilient to climate change. Climate resilience means that our communities, economies and environments can handle climate problems and can adapt and change when needed.
Climate change affects everyone, but it doesn’t impact everyone the same way.
Climate equity programs
Energy efficiency resources can reduce poverty, create jobs and improve health, comfort and safety. They also help fight climate change.

Home Upgrades Program (HUP)
The City is offering three free programs to help income-qualified Calgarians save gas, electricity and water, reduce utility costs and improve home comfort and safety. These programs are delivered by Kambo Energy Group on behalf of The City of Calgary at no cost to income-qualified Calgarians. You can apply to one, two or all three programs!
Home Upgrades Program
- Apply for free home upgrades to reduce your gas, electricity and water use, such as high-efficiency furnaces and toilets. Make your home more comfortable, safe and affordable.
Multilingual Workshops
- Learn how to reduce gas, electricity and water use at home while improving home comfort and safety. Get personalized advice that is easy to understand and put into action.
RetroKits
- This free DIY RetroKit is packed with items that are easy to install, delivered right to your door. Improve your home with LED light bulbs, leak detection tablets, a power save bar and more!
Learn more and apply at www.homeupgradesprogram.ca/calgary

ClimateReadyYYC
ClimateReadyYYC is funded by The City and run by the Federation of Calgary Communities. The program helps communities work together to build resilience to climate change. It also helps small groups with projects and education to build climate resilience.
Learn more about ClimateReadyYYCAdvancing Energy Equity Together: Calgary’s Energy Equity Strategy
The Energy Equity Strategy is the first step toward an energy-equitable city where everyone can afford to efficiently heat, cool and power their home with clean energy.
The Energy Equity Strategy
Learn more about energy equity and what The City plans to do to help Calgarians with their energy needs:
- Read the Energy Equity Strategy
- Watch our Energy Equity Strategy Webinar
How the strategy was created
To develop the Strategy, we completed a comprehensive engagement with the community and took a deeper look into how we will measure energy inequity in Calgary.
- We spoke to Calgarians are struggling with energy bills and other essentials and with groups that care about fair access to energy. To learn about the problems and solutions we talked about, read the What We Heard reports.
- A methodology was chosen specifically for Calgary that considers the cost of basic needs people must pay for and can also estimate the energy burden Calgarians are facing. To learn more about the energy equity methodology and how it is calculated, review the Energy Equity Methodology.
Resources
This information offers advice and details about other programs and resources. We encourage you to read it and do your own research to find what you need.
Get involved and make a difference
Would you like to help improve climate equity in Calgary? Join us to meet people who care, learn new skills, and become a leader in your community. Together, we can make a fair and sustainable future for everyone.