The federal government can give its climate change program a boost by working with local governments to control greenhouse gases, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities says.

A bus driver waits for a hybrid transit bus to pass in Gatineau, Que. Municipalities say local green initiatives can help Canada meet its climate change goals. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)A report released by the federation Tuesday says municipalities have direct or indirect control over about 44 per cent of Canada's overall greenhouse gas emissions.

The federal government has said it hopes to reduce emissions by 20 per cent from 2006 levels by 2020.

According to the new report, municipalities could cut between 20 and 50 megatonnes of emissions, which would represent 15 per cent to 40 per cent of Canada's 2020 emission reduction goal.

"Whatever comes out of Copenhagen, Canadians will want to see their governments taking concrete action on climate change here at home," said Berry Vrbanovic, vice-president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and a municipal councillor in Kitchener, Ont.

"And that's what municipalities are doing by improving public transit, shifting to more fuel-efficient fleets, retrofitting public buildings and turning landfill gas into energy."

The report says local initiatives are a cost-effective way to cut emissions — but it stresses that municipalities need investment from senior levels of government to help push new emission-reduction projects forward.

The report was released on the second day of a major United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen where countries are trying to agree on new emissions-reduction goals to replace the Kyoto protocol, which expires in 2012.

Delegates from 192 countries are meeting in the Danish capital to agree on new emissions-reduction targets to replace the Kyoto protocol, which expires in 2012.

with files from The Canadian Press