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Âé¶čAV councillor calls for mayoral task force on climate action

Councillor Gord Lovegrove concerned city won't hit climate targets by 2030
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Âé¶čAV City Councillor Gord Lovegrove. Photo | Contributed

Concerns about the City of Âé¶čAV not hitting its 2030 climate action targets prompted a call for a mayoral task force on the issue at council’s Monday (Sept.23) meeting.

Council adopted the Climate Resiliency Âé¶čAV Strategy (CRKS) which includes dozens of recommendations to reduce greenhouse gases. But during a staff presentation, Councillor Gord Lovegrove had several questions about details in the plan.

“The elephant in the room is we’re going to keep kicking this down the road,” he said. “These are 153 amazing actions, many of which we’ve started, but I’m concerned we’re not going to do enough in enough time to meet 2030.”

Council declared a climate crisis during its Oct. 16, 2023, after a motion was brought forward by Lovegrove and Coun. Mohini Singh. At that meeting, several protesters shouted â€˜you’re all fired’, ‘shame on you’, and ‘disgusting' at council.' They also held up signs that read ‘Stop the Climate Crisis Declaration’ and ‘We Need A Public Hearing On This.’ 

At that time, council directed staff to use community emissions reduction targets 40 per cent below 2007 levels by 2030, and to achieve net zero by 2050, in the development of the CRKS. 

On Monday, Lovegrove said he liked the plan but could not support it, reiterating his concern that some climate targets could not be achieved in the next six years.

“Our staff are the experts, they know what needs to be done,” he added. “Your worship I’m pleading with you, please start a task force
please consider aggressive action on this.”

Lovegrove also asked Mayor Tom Dyas to initiate discussions with Âé¶čAV’s regional partners and jurisdictions across the province and the country.

Dyas did not say no to a task force but noted that council established its priorities around climate action several months ago.

“I believe staff has outlined a plan which is going to be established over the next four to five years
and as a council when we go into our next strategic planning sessions
if items come out of that we need to advance we will look at advancing it.” 

The CRKS highlights 10 key drivers to cut emissions including reducing reliance on vehicles, transitioning to low-carbon vehicles, and supporting a low-carbon and resilient energy supply.

It calls for a 33 per cent reduction in transportation emissions by 2030 to address air quality and a 32 per cent reduction in building emissions to combat extreme heat and cold, and the potential for flooding and wildfires,

Lovegrove was the only councillor opposed to adopting the CRKS.



About the Author: Gary Barnes

Journalist and broadcaster for three decades.
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