Twelve Manitoba municipalities will split $112,000 in grants to develop plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preserving the environment.

The municipalities will use the funds to develop action plans to conserve energy through municipal services. That could involve redesigning municipal buildings for energy efficiency, converting to geothermal heating or simply switching to low-energy light bulbs, municipal officials said.

The 12 municipalities are Brandon, Thompson, Winkler, Morden, Virden; the villages of St. Pierre-Jolys and Notre Dame de Lourdes; and the rural municipalities of Tache, De Salaberry, St. Laurent, Stanley and Thompson.

The money comes from the $550-million Green Municipal Fund sponsored by the federal government and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. FCM announced the grants March 16.

The municipalities, led by the City of Thompson, are partnering through the Association of Manitoba Municipalities to complete the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) program.

PCP is a network of Canadian municipal governments committed to reducing greenhouse gases and acting on climate change.