FCM Calls on Feds to Work With Municipalities on Climate Change Strategy
By 250 News
Tuesday, December 08, 2009 01:37 PM
Prince George, B.C.- The Federation of Canadian Municipalities, ( of which Prince George is a member) has issued a report calling for federal and provincial support for municipalities to kick start the federal climate change strategy.
Entitled "Act Locally — The Municipal Role in Fighting Climate Change", the report chronicles what Canada´s municipalities are doing to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – and how much more they could do as full partners in a national climate change strategy.
“Whatever comes out of Copenhagen, Canadians will want to see their governments taking concrete action on climate change here at home,” said FCM 2nd Vice-President Berry Vrbanovic, municipal councillor in Kitchener, Ont. “And that´s what municipalities are doing by improving public transit, shifting to more fuel-efficient fleets, retrofitting public buildings, and turning landfill gas into energy.”
Municipal governments have direct or indirect influence over activities accounting for 44 per cent of GHG emissions in Canada, including waste management, transportation, and commercial and residential building design. According to the report, there is “large, untapped potential” to achieve low-cost GHG reductions in these areas. Two-thirds of these reductions can be achieved for less than $25 per tonne – less than the average cost of regulating industry or developing renewable energy, and a fraction of the price of carbon capture and storage.
"These projects are cost-effective,” said Vrbanovic. "They open the door for the federal government to take meaningful action on climate change while still working its way back to balanced budgets."
But municipal tax payers cannot afford to underwrite a national climate change strategy all on their own.
“What we need now – more urgently than new money - is a new mindset,” said Vrbanovic. “The federal government must commit to working with provinces, territories and municipalities to put all options for fighting climate change on the table, and invest in the ones that deliver the best value for Canadians. Based on today´s report, we´re confident that cost-effective, community-based projects offer the very best opportunities for taking action on climate change.”
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Posted by: caranmacil on December 8 2009 1:46 PM