Correspondence from Mayor Helps re: Promoting and Enabling GHG Reductions
Request for support for federal and provincial actions to accelerate GHG emission reductions.
March 13, 2019
Dear AVICC Member Government,
On behalf of Victoria City Council, I am requesting your favourable consideration and resolutions of support for promoting and enabling GHG reductions.
At the January 31, 2019 Council Meeting, Council approved the following:
Resolution: Promoting and Enabling GHG Reductions
WHEREAS the world’s leading climate scientists have warned that we have less than 12 years to meet our climate targets, and early action is required to avoid significant costs and impacts to social and environmental well-being in our communities, and worldwide.
AND WHEREAS local governments are uniquely positioned to enable this mobilisation effort, in a coordinated and integrated fashion across sectors, enabling individual action with timely and accurate information, incentives, directions, coordination, tools, targets and scalable, impactful programs.
AND WHEREAS local governments GHG reduction plans will be effectively and expeditiously realised through a dedicated focus on cutting the most impactful GHG sources, including: retrofitting existing buildings to high-efficiency standards; renewable electricity; elimination of fossil fuel heating sources; shifting people to transit, active transportation, and renewably powered mobility options; and the electrification of commercial and passenger vehicle fleets.
AND WHEREAS the complexity and pace/progress of GHG reductions in both local governments and community require additional resources and planning to reduce risks of missing interim and longer GHG and renewable energy targets.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that local governments call on the Governments of Canada and British Columbia to pursue the following immediate sector actions to promote and enable GHG reductions and realize important social and economic co-benefits:
- Make available all ICBC municipal vehicle km/make/model/fuel economy information.
- Continue the development and implementation of world-class low carbon fuel standards.
- Fully invest in delivery of the zero-emission vehicles sales targets as established in the CleanBC Plan.
- Continue progressive and direct funding programs and partnerships for municipal low carbon initiatives, including building retrofit, transportation, waste management and other priority and shared GHG reduction programs.
We look forward to your support on this matter.
Sincerely,
Lisa Helps Victoria Mayor
cc. The Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC) Annual Convention AVICC Member Local Governments
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