UBCM has struck a Special Committee on Climate Action to generate new ideas, explore opportunities and barriers to local government action, and identify avenues for further partnership work in mitigating, and adapting to, the effects of climate change.
The new committee is comprised of elected officials and senior staff from local government, as well as representatives from the Province, environmental non-governmental organizations, crown corporations and academia. UBCM President Arjun Singh chairs the Special Committee.
In an effort to take climate action to the next level, the Committee will consider the state of climate action, local government approaches and best practices in mitigation and adaptation, and the roles and responsibilities of the orders of government and external stakeholders in supporting local action. It will also review opportunities and barriers to taking climate action to the next level, and propose options that are sensitive to local conditions, autonomy, and resources. The Committee will meet over the course of nine months, and generate a report of its findings for consideration by the UBCM Executive.
At its inaugural meeting in August, the Committee approved a terms of reference, and reviewed a work plan along with the current institutional framework for climate action in British Columbia. It also discussed elements of an outreach strategy that would ensure early engagement with local governments, as well as delegations from key stakeholders. As a focus, the Committee agreed to examine the provincial climate action strategy, CleanBC, and the role that local governments could take in tackling the remaining 25% of BC emissions not addressed through the strategy.
For further information on the Committee, please contact Jared Wright, Director of Advocacy and Government Relations.
Committee Membership List:
- Councillor Arjun Singh, Kamloops, UBCM President
- Councillor Brian Frenkel, Vanderhoof, Chair, UBCM Environment Committee
- Mayor Josie Osborne, Tofino
- Mayor Lori Ackerman, Fort St. John
- Councillor Rik Logtenberg, Nelson
- Councillor Adriane Carr, City of Vancouver, Chair, Metro Vancouver Climate Action Committee
- Conor Reynolds, Division Manager, Air Quality and Climate Change Policy, Metro Vancouver
- Ryan O'Grady, Director of Engineering, City of Courtenay
- Dale Littlejohn, Executive Director, Community Energy Association
- Robin Wark, Team Lead, Sustainable Communities, BC Hydro
- Dr. Stephen Sheppard, Director of Collaborative for Advanced Landscape Planning, Department of Forests Resource Management, UBC
- Chris Gilmore, Executive Director, Climate Partnerships and Engagement Branch, Ministry of Environment
- Jessica Brooks, Executive Director, Planning and Land Use Management, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing