Calgary has officially declared a climate emergency, but the city's work is just beginning
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Calgary has officially declared a climate emergency, but the city’s work is just beginning.
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City officials told council they’ll need more resources to achieve what council has asked them to do, which includes shifting the city’s climate goals to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Besides the emergency declaration, the motion approved Monday calls for the city’s Indigenous relations office to engage First Nations on climate change strategies and for staff to update agreements with the city’s wholly owned subsidiaries and non-profit partner organizations to make sure they’re aligned on climate goals.
The motion also asks city officials to create and implement a carbon budget, a tool that helps measure how city projects such as new development will affect greenhouse gas emissions, and track progress on reaching net zero by 2050.
Michael Thompson, city manager of utilities and environmental protection, told council Monday night that more staff will be needed to get all the work done.
“We need to spend the next year building the action plan, bringing it back to council to really incorporate into the budgets,” he said.
“This is a large change that we need to make as an organization, and it will take time to get this stood up and running.”
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Environment and climate change manager Dick Ebersohn told council that he hopes to have more details early in 2022 on costs associated with the actions in the climate emergency motion.
After passing the motion in a 13-2 vote, council spent some more time talking about followup work that Coun. Courtney Walcott and Coun. Jennifer Wyness want to see. Both the councillors’ requests got referred for additional discussion at a committee later this year.
Walcott said Tuesday he wants to make sure there are concrete ways to measure what council set out to do in the climate emergency motion, and there’s no way that’s achievable if staff are doing the work “off the side of their desk.”
Among the work he wants to see are plans and timelines to retrofit city-owned buildings to meet energy standards that align with emissions reductions targets. He’s also requesting an educational campaign to help Calgarians play their own part in meeting the net-zero target.
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“This isn’t the first time that we’ve made a grand declaration,” he said.
“2050 is a long time away, so how do we know we’re on track from now to then? The only way to really do that is set those targets so we can come back, measure the outcomes and determine whether or not we’ve done the work that the urgency of this issue demands.”
Wyness asked for a framework to “measure, monetize and manage” the city’s climate plans, and hear updates clearly outlining what progress has been made.
City officials will give an update on the existing climate resilience strategy in 2022.
Council will hear more about climate action, and how that work might be incorporated into the municipal budget, during next week’s discussion on budget adjustments for 2022.
Twitter: @meksmith
City action on climate change calls for more resources - Calgary Herald
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