WHEREAS the provincial government committed to meeting the goals of BCs Climate Action Plan released June 2008, recent reports, including the Fifth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC and the TD Economics Special Report on Natural Catastrophes: A Canadian Economic Perspective highlight financial implications of climate change, and that economic cost of severe weather is under-appreciated; AND WHEREAS the frequency of weather events has increased, and local governments have finite financial resources, and under-investing relative to needs to mitigate costs of these events, could become unmanageable: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM call upon the Province to establish a process, in partnership with local governments, to evaluate BCs climate change targets in the context of the recent reports from the IPCC; AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that UBCM bring a resolution to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities 2015 Annual General Meeting calling upon the Government of Canada to work with other countries at the 2015 Climate Change Convention in Paris to develop an international treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol.
Minister of the Environment Canada is proud to be a founding partner and a major financial contributor to the Climate and Clean Air Coalition in order to align global efforts to tackle short-lived climate pollutants like black carbon and methane. Canada is also advancing work to address these pollutants under its chairmanship of the Arctic Council. This work is especially important for Canada as short-lived climate pollutants significantly impact the North. Our government considers the potential economic costs associated with climate change when conducting cost-benefit analyses of proposed greenhouse gas regulations. A wide variety of impacts are taken into account, including the effects of climate on agricultural productivity, property damage from increased flood risks, and health impacts. Internationally, Canada continues to work with its global partners to address climate change under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. For Canada, an effective new international agreement must be fair, address both mitigation and adaptation, and include a commitment to action by all the worlds major emitters of greenhouse gases. The provincialterritorial governments play a key role in reducing Canadas greenhouse gas emissions and are an important contributor to meeting this countrys overall commitments.