Municipalities Can be the Climate Leaders We Need
Climate change has faded during this election, but it is still front and centre in our communities coast to coast to coast.
We are in the middle (sort of) of a federal election that could be one of the more consequential Canadian elections we’ve had in a while. While much of the discussion and debate has centred, rightly, on Canada’s response to Trump, the other existential crisis that has lingered far longer than Trump, and will last far longer than Trump, is being completely ignored. Climate change has frustratingly fallen completely off the table.
Two Steps (or more) Backwards
Worse than having the climate crisis being simply ignored by most of the federal parties, actions taken in the last month and promises coming out of the campaigns are actually moving us backwards. Despite the rhetoric, from all camps, the carbon tax was a net financial positive for a majority of Canadians. Putting a price on carbon, on pollution of any kind, is a basic (conservative) tool to use. But, the carbon tax had become politically unsellable, in significant part due to the unending onslaught of misinformation from the “axe the tax” crowd. So, the major tool in place for reducing GHGs, the price on pollution, was eliminated.
We’ve also seen a resurgence of pipelines being a major talking point for all parties. And, because of the desire to shift our economic allegiances away from our north/south alignment, suddenly we are talking pipelines. Pipelines to the coasts, pipelines through Quebec, pipelines for oil and natural gas. All of this ignoring the fact that we need to move away from using fossil fuels, not spend billions of dollars facilitating the destruction of our planet.
Municipal Leadership
One of the great things in Canada is that often, when provincial and federal leaders fail, municipalities will step in and show the leadership required. This has been true for a very long time. Banning indoor smoking started at the municipal level, until provinces had no choice but to follow their lead. Any action we have seen from the federal government over the last 6 or 7 years on affordable housing is the result of many years of municipal lobbying and leadership.
The majority of us live in urban settings, and climate change is becoming apparent in our municipalities first. Climate change is increasing the forest fires and floods are devastating our communities. Thanks to a heating environment, cities have “heat emergencies” and have to open cooling centres. The heat island that is our urban environment is becoming more and more hostile to humans, and a lot of other critters as well.
While federal leaders have been stepping away from real climate action, this past week, on April 11th, municipal leaders from across Canada tried to bring climate change back into the discussion. 128 mayors and councillors signed an open letter to our federal leaders to make addressing climate change the priority going forward.
Is your councillor or mayor a signatory? They should be if they aren’t!
While municipalities are looking for leadership from the federal government, they have been taking action at the local level. Bike lanes, increasing transit, curbing urban sprawl, walkable neighbourhoods, reducing parking minimums, and reducing speed limits are all examples of actions being taken in most municipalities, big and small, right across the country. All of them improve livability in our communities, and all of them have a positive impact for reducing GHGs.
This is one of the things I admire about our municipalities; while other orders of government debate and argue for years about policy and direction, municipal leaders just get on with it. Mayors and councillors are closest to how we live our lives. Every day, they are living their lives right beside us. That makes a difference.
Around the world, the leadership we need is coming from cities. Thanks to its mayor, Paris has become a cycling city in the past five years. GHG’s are reduced, air pollution is reduced, and livability is increased. We are seeing the same things happening in NYC, not because of bike lanes, but because of adding congestion charges: fewer cars, less air pollution, a quieter more livable city. Same thing in London. 25 years ago, Bogotá showed the world how you could transform a city by focusing on cycling and transit.
In Canada, we are seeing similar kinds of leadership coming out of Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, and Montreal, among many other cities. Everything from transit investments, cycling infrastructure, and sponge parks, Canadian municipalities, large and small, are taking action. Each action, addressing climate change and improving quality of life for residents.
Which, inevitably, leads to Winnipeg, where I live.
Sadly, the leadership we see in other cities is not evident here. I am learning to love this city, and there is so much potential here. While we are an incredibly sprawled and car dependent city, we have established neighbourhoods that are vibrant and thriving. The Exchange District is a historic district that is second to none. Plus, the city if nestled on two wonderful twisting rivers. So Much Potential!
As we see other cities across the canada investing in transit, cycling, green space, and general livability, Winnipeg has done little of that. And when it comes to addressing climate change, it is virtually non-existent within city budgeting or planning.
A History of Futility
It’s not that Winnipeg has ignored climate change. In 1998 Winnipeg joined the Federation of Canadian Municipalities “Partners for Climate Protection” program. They committed to reduce GHGs by 6% from 1992 levels, The Kyoto Protocol. 300 other municipalities in Canada signed on to that program and made those commitments.
That commitment requires a plan! So, 20 years later (yes, 20 YEARS!) in 2018, the City of Winnipeg approved it’s Climate Action Plan. By then, the world had given up on the Kyoto Protocol targets and moved the goal post to 2005 as the new baseline. (when emissions continue to skyrocket, just move the goal posts further out!). The Paris Agreement of 2016, signed by Canada and 195 other countries, set out a target of net zero emission by 2050 as the target. Winnipeg’s 2018 Climate Action Plan (WCAP) establishes a target of 80% emissions reduction, based on 2011. Yup, another moved goal post without the ambition of trying to reach it!
As part of the WCAP, city staff report back each year on Action Plan progress. In that report they track the City of Winnipeg’s emissions year over year. The results in the reports very much reflect the lack of commitment and investment in addressing the climate crisis:
Since adopting the Climate Action Plan to reduce emissions by 20% by 2030 & 80% by 2050, as the impacts of climate change are accelerating, as we have accepted we are in a Climate Crisis, the City of Winnipeg’s emissions have almost doubled. Climate Action has all but disappeared from city planning and budgeting.
There’s always another plan!
Before Council this coming week is the next plan for emissions reduction. The Winnipeg Building Emissions Reduction Strategy is being considered at Council in the coming week.
The report itself proposes spending about $39M over 5 years, starting in 2026, on the strategy. Most of the expense is targeted to doing energy audits and monitoring. Almost half of the expense, $16M, is to replace boilers at City Hall and the Police Headquarters. Meagre and unambitious as this strategy is, as little as it will accomplish in actually reducing GHG emissions, this is a step, albeit the smallest of baby steps, in the right direction.
Elbows Up for Climate Action
Canadians have recognized the threats to our country from the Trump Administration are an existential threat. We are all, as individuals and as government, reacting to that existential threat with determination. We recognize that we all need to be “Elbows Up” for our country.
Municipal leaders across the country are clear, the climate crisis is also an existential threat and we need to be bring the same “Elbows Up” attitude toward addressing climate change. This quote from the letter strikes close to home:
Act Boldly Winnipeg!
We are not seeing the boldness necessary from the City of Winnipeg. While 2 Winnipeg city councillors signed the Elbows Up letter, we need real action from everyone. So far, despite having an “Action Plan” for emission reduction, the only direction we have seen are emissions increases. Winnipeg is stuck in thinking that the “status quo is working”. It clearly isn’t.
As other cities have demonstrated across the Canada and around the world, acting boldly to address the climate crisis gives residents better health, cleaner air, a better quality of life, and a more livable city.
The best time to start was in 1998, when the City of Winnipeg made its very first commitment towards emissions reduction. The second best time is right now.