Our Goal
The Municipal Net-Zero Action Research Partnership (N-ZAP) aims to support Canadian municipalities in monitoring, measuring and achieving their GHG mitigation goals. This research project will study and create improved measurement, analysis and monitoring systems for both municipal and community-wide GHG emissions. This will help to advance the quantification of GHG emissions, enable the application of methods to identify mitigation opportunities, and evaluate their effectiveness.
N-ZAP is a partnership between the University of Waterloo, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, ICLEI Canada, 11 other Canadian universities, nine other national organizations and 15 municipal governments. A full list can be found on our project partners page.
Project Local Agenda 21 (LA21) wrapped up in 2021. The goal of Project LA21 was to assist with the effective implementation of community sustainability plans (CSPs), and Local Agenda 21s through the examination of governance structures and outcomes. This included monitoring & measurement systems, decision-making structures, communication systems, inclusive partner engagement systems, and collective action mechanisms. We drew from and contributed to the strategic management, sustainability management, cross-sector partnerships, urban studies, sustainability justice and environmental studies literatures. Our work was done in collaboration with practitioners, and aimed to help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals #11, #13 and #17. For more information, see the archive available on this website.
The purpose of this website is to share information on our core research projects; N-ZAP and Project LA21. We provide an overview of the current student studies, and introduce the current research team participating in N-ZAP. The website also serves as a platform for N-ZAP and Project LA21 research dissemination, an overview of current research focuses, the resulting publications and past presentations.
Check out N-ZAP's new report and database on the current state of local climate action in Canada
The newly launched database and report provide an important overview of the current state of climate action at the local level in communities across Canada and can help municipalities set ambitious targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
Become an N-ZAP pilot city!
There are many ways to get involved in the Municipal Net-Zero Action Research Partnership (N-ZAP) as we study and create improved methods for how local governments monitor, measure and reduce local GHG emissions. N-ZAP is recruiting Canadian municipalities to participate as pilot cities or case study subjects. Interested in getting involved?
Sign-up to express interest in becoming a pilot city and remain in touch with the project here!