2021

Whereas ancient high productivity big tree old growth ecosystems are globally one of the most valuable climate mitigation and resiliency assets in terms of carbon storage, sequestration, protection against wildfire, storage of water and bank of biodiversity; And whereas of the miniscule fraction 2.7 of the original high productivity big tree oldgrowth forests less than 1 of BCs total current forested area, 75 are still slated to be eliminated through logging; And whereas alternatives exist to increase protection of biodiversity and employment, through the immediate transition to sustai

Whereas ancient high productivity big tree old-growth ecosystems are globally one of the most valuable climate mitigation and resiliency assets in terms of carbon storage, sequestration, protection against wildfire, storage of water and bank of biodiversity; And whereas of the 2.7 of the original high productivity big tree old-growth forests less than 1 of BCs total current forested area, 75 are still slated to be eliminated through logging: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM call on the Government of British Columbia to immediately defer logging in all high productivity, rare, oldest,

Whereas ancient high productivity big tree old growth ecosystems are globally one of the most valuable climate mitigation and resiliency assets in terms of carbon storage, sequestration, protection against wildfire, storage of water and bank of biodiversity; And whereas of the 2.7 of the original high productivity big tree old-growth forests less than 1 of BCs total current forested area, 75 are still slated to be eliminated through logging; Therefore be it resolved that UBCM call on the Government of British Columbia to immediately defer logging in all high productivity, rare, oldest, a

Whereas the longevity of items is decreasing because manufacturers are deliberately designing products to be disposable; And whereas citizens and businesses are deterred from repairing their belongings by companies that claim ownership over the intellectual property in their products, fail to provide parts or other aspects that make it hard to repair items: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask the Province of BC to draft and enact Right to Repair legislation.

Whereas construction and demolition waste comprises approximately 2.8 million metric tonnes of materials annually in British Columbia, and about one-third of municipal solid waste disposed in the province; And whereas the materials disposed could have been resold, reused or recycled, they represent sources of embodied carbon, and deconstruction provides six times more job opportunities; And whereas recent research in just Metro Vancouver suggests the value of salvageable wood at 343 million annually, and the addition of other materials and other regions would radically increase this numbe

Whereas building retrofits help drive deep building-sector emissions reductions, respiratory illness reductions, building operating cost reductions, and job creation, yet local governments are currently constrained with existing legislation; And whereas Integral Group modelling has shown that when implemented together, these five actions compliment each other: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM prevail upon the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Energy Mines and Low Carbon Innovation EMLCI, and Attorney Gene

Whereas a total of 493 municipalities across Canada adopted Climate Emergency Declarations, and in British Columbia as of early 2019 dozens of municipalities have done so, and the need to develop clear actionable Community Climate Action Plans is urgent; And whereas it has been demonstrated that collaborative, cooperative planning and financing processes increase the efficiency and maximize the impacts of the investments that all levels of government are making in assisting communities to develop and implement Community Climate Action Plans with bold actions and clearly articulated targets

Whereas the provisioning and management of goods and food consumed by BC communities produces excessive and unnecessary quantities of waste, pollution and carbon emissions that threatens human and environmental health; And whereas the concept of a circular economy provides a vision and framework to design out waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use and regenerate natural systems to help BC communities move towards zero waste: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request that the Province of BC develop a provincial circular economy strategy.

Whereas the provisioning and management of goods and food consumed by BC communities produces excessive and unnecessary quantities of waste, pollution and carbon emissions that threatens environmental health; And whereas the concept of a circular economy provides a vision and framework to design out waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use and regenerate natural systems to help BC communities move towards zero waste; And whereas the Province has yet to develop a comprehensive strategy to transition BCs economy to a circular one: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request t

Whereas the Climate Action Revenue Incentive Program CARIP has provided 187 local governments with a valuable financial incentive to achieve the goals of the Climate Action Charter and significant progress has been made in reducing corporate emissions, measuring and reporting on community GHG profiles, and creating energy efficient rural and urban communities; And whereas local governments have come to rely on CARIP funding, and the termination of this funding stream in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic will exacerbate the financial challenges that local governments and their constituent