Notice of Motion: Municipal Survivor Climate Challenge

Council Member Motion/Recommendation

To: Council Members
From: Councillor Ann Baird
File: 0530.01
Date: December 13, 2018
Subject: Municipal Survivor Climate Challenge

Introduction:

Create a friendly competition between municipal councils challenging them to decrease their ecological footprint with the goal of education, community leadership, and building local resilience in the face of a rapidly changing climate.

Background:

The new report of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) (Nov 2018) focuses on the emission pathways to keeping global average temperatures under a 1.5 degree Celsius rise AND the implications of not doing so. The consequences are bad enough even at the 1°C rise we have already experienced, but almost unspeakable if we don’t meet this 1.5°C target. The IPCC findings state that global emissions must reduce 45% by 2030 and 100% by 2050. The good news is that scientists and economists say this is possible. The bad news is that we need to change everything immediately. https://report.ipcc.ch/sr15/pdf/sr15_spm_final.pdf

Quote from Sir David Attenborough at COP24 (UN Climate Summit in Poland) on Dec 3, 2018. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46398057

"Right now we are facing a manmade disaster of global scale, our greatest threat in thousands of years: climate change. If we don’t take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon.

"The world’s people have spoken. Time is running out. They want you, the decision makers, to act now. Leaders of the world, you must lead. The continuation of civilisations and the natural world upon which we depend is in your hands.”

Quote from António Guterres, the United Nations secretary general on Sept 10, 2018. https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2018-09-10/secretary-generals-remarks-climate-change-delivered

“If we do not change course by 2020, we risk missing the point where we can avoid runaway climate change, with disastrous consequences for people and all the natural systems that sustain us.”

Details for The Municipal Survivor Climate Challenge:

To initiate a fun and friendly municipal competition with each participating council measuring their average “One-Planet Living” footprint of the mayor and council, who then take steps in their daily lives over the next year to reduce their average footprint. Suggested calculator: https://www.footprintcalculator.org/

This tool gives the following data based on subjective inputs by individuals:

1. How many Earth’s would be required if everyone lived like that person
2. Ecological footprint (how many hectares of land are required)
3. Carbon footprint (tonnes of CO2)

Bragging rights and possible award would be for the council that:

1. Starts with the lowest footprint (how many earth’s)
2. Has the biggest reduction over one year
3. Has lowest at the end of the year
4. And perhaps the fossil award to the highest average footprint council

Goals:

1. Education
2. Community and regional engagement in a simple and fun way
3. Invite informal community participation or expand to a community footprint survey
4. Media coverage
5. Leverage existing pathways of inter-municipal interactions to expand climate awareness
6. Demonstrate community leadership in responding to the climate crisis
7. Shift the cultural story around climate action
8. Build local resilience
9. Gain more support for climate policies and initiatives
10. Empower individuals to take action

Many people say that individual actions don’t make a difference. To this we can say:

1. Individual actions add up. Think of a drop of water, a puddle, a pond, a lake, a river, an ocean.
2. It’s about ethics and doing the right thing. Demonstrate climate leadership to our community and to our region.
3. People that take personal action are more likely to take political action and support/request meaningful changes locally, provincially, federally, and globally.
4. Personal changes now will make us more resilient to climatic, ecological and economic shocks.

Other Comments:

• Requires very little staff time and has no financial costs
• Easy to use and no individual footprints are shared...only council average
• Individuals who are feeling hopeless or are negatively impacted by the enormity of the climate crisis suffer more health and stress related issues. Offering examples of actions and opportunities can help individuals begin making changes. Personal actions often lead to a sense of control; connection and hope which help reduce stress, anxiety, and fear, thereby leading to a healthier community.

NOTICE OF MOTION for January 7, 2019 regular council meeting:

That council initiates the Municipal Survivor Climate Challenge AND perform our individual global footprint calculations, AND allow the Chief Administrative Officer to average our individual footprint results (including number of planets, CO2e, and number of hectares of land), AND send a letter with Highlands Council averages challenging other AVICC municipalities to do the same.

Respectfully Submitted,

Councillor Ann Baird