Themes of Climate change, sustainability and how municipal government can engage with the public and lead the way on Climate issues will be the focus of a three day conference in Vancouver which gets underway today.
Taking place at the Vancouver Airport Hilton, the event hosted by the Climate Leadership Institute is looking to provide local elected officials with the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully take positive action on climate change.
Prince Rupert Mayor Lee Brain will be one of the participants as part of his membership with the BC Climate leadership Council which is participating in the conference.
The Mayor made note of his plans last week through his twitter feed, highlighting the focus for municipal governments that will be found at the gathering.
The Mayor took his place on the Climate Leadership Council last year, joining Smithers Mayor Taylor Bachrach in providing for a Northwest British Columbia view on the themes of sustainability and climate action.
He made note of some of the groups work at UBCM this year, while he and the Prince Rupert council delegation were in Vancouver for the annual municipal convention.
This weeks conference is set to explore an ambitious agenda when it opens later today at 5 PM, along the way the delegates will work on round table panels and break out groups, hear from guest speakers and network on areas of shared interest in climate initiatives.
Included among those on the guest speaker list is former Premier Mike Harcourt, who will deliver the keynote address on Thursday, exploring the topic of Leadership in Smart Energy Communities.
Mayor Brain may take advantage of the setting to share some notes on the City of Prince Rupert's plans when it comes to environmental and climate issues, with some background on a number of recent initiatives launched by the City to work towards the goals that the Mayor has in mind for the community.
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Mayor Brain's 2030 Sustainable City Select Committee gets approval, but not without spirited discussion on its purpose
Mayor hails success of Placemaking conference and points to a new 2030 Sustainable City Vision
It's the second major environmental conference of the year for Mayor Brain, who previously attended the Renewable cities conference in May.
That conference provided the Mayor with a number of themes to share with City Council and the community when he returned to the city.
While he didn't make note of his November travel plans at Monday's City Council session, his three days in Vancouver should provide him with some notes to bring home to share with the public at the next City Council session of November 14th.
While he's at the conference the Mayor might even offer some highlights of the progress of the week through his Facebook and twitter pages.
Conference organizers have plans to make use of their social media portals through the week, with updates to come from both the conference Facebook page and twitter feed.
More background on the conference can be found here.
The full scope of the City's sustainability initiatives can be reviewed here.
While notes related to Prince Rupert City Council can be examined on our archive page here.
A survey, an "expansive discussion", a committee appointed, a "spirited discussion", a conference about something else, and the possibility of a new "vision". In the midst of all of this talk, has the City actually done anything to reduce carbon emissions?
ReplyDeleteIf you could see past your obvious Bias, you Would see they have done a whole lot more than talk:
Delete-remediated the old Pulp mill site
-new energy efficient lighting in rec facilities
-downsized vehicle fleet for fuel efficiency
-implemented DCCs for building efficiency
-BC Hydro energy efficiency program
-updated Energy/Emissions plan
-new infill/densification land use regs
-new dam tech for Water supply
http://www.princerupert.ca/sites/default/files/Reports/2016/2016CARIP_%20Prince%20Rupert.pdf
Staying on the topic of climate change (rather than getting into Watson Island and water supply) until the City starts measuring its corporate GHG emissions, there is no baseline against which to measure progress (or the lack of it). It's like saying 'we're winning' but no one knows the score. At the community level, the latest GHG numbers appear to be from 2010.
ReplyDeleteHaving that information on an annual basis should help shift the discussion from processes - conferences, committees, discussions etc - to concrete actions and quantifiable results. I don't think that it is coincidental that the Port does an annual GHG inventory and is taking concrete actions.
I'm not an expert on garbage, but from what I've gathered diverting organic waste from the municipal landfill should have a substantial effect. Hopefully progress on that will be reported soon.
As for lighting and transport, we're all using more efficient light bulbs and driving or riding in more efficient vehicles. Having a public charging station for electric vehicles, as in Terrace and some smaller towns on Hwy 16, would be a concrete action. Hopefully progress will be reported on that as well.
Thanks for proving my point about oBvious bias! At least We agree on 1 thing, you are not an expert!
ReplyDeleteYou: have they actually done anything?
Us: copy + paste a list
You: doesn't matter. Not enough.