The City of Colwood has officially approved its Climate Action Plan – a living document which outlines the city’s response to the climate emergency and its goal to become a leader in integrated climate action by 2050.
The plan was presented by staff as a final draft for approval at the regular council meeting Aug. 28 and approved unanimously by council, with a follow-up motion by Mayor Doug Kobayashi adding communication as one of the plan’s main pathways by unanimous consent.
“This plan is outstanding,” said Kobayashi. “I had the opportunity to get the (David) Suzuki Foundation checklist on what a good climate action plan should have and we have included everything and even gone beyond. I’m super impressed with it.”
Developing the plan was a key element of council’s strategic priorities for 2019 to 2023 and in its final form, it focuses on three main goals with seven integrated pathways to achieve those goals, and a list of actions ready for implementation.
READ MORE: Colwood takes next step toward climate change goals
The three goals are to reduce emissions to net-zero by 2050, build climate resilience, and maximize co-benefits.
The pathways include municipal leadership, transportation and complete communities, buildings and infrastructure, biodiversity and nature-based solutions, food and zero waste, community well-being and eco-innovation, and added by Kobayashi’s motion, communication.
Actions are tied to each pathway, and include things like building the capacity of the city’s internal Climate Action Team, electrifying the municipal vehicle fleet, expanding pedestrian use spaces, expanding transit infrastructure, requiring more energy-efficient and sustainable development, educating the public on nature-based solutions, and increasing community food production.
With the plan now approved, staff work shifts focus to creating an initial implementation plan for council to discuss and approve, which will include the financial considerations for the actions it outlines.
As a living document, the plan is intended to be reviewed and updated periodically to ensure it remains in line with best practices, new information, and new opportunities to capitalize on.
While council was unified in the quality and importance of the document, there was disagreement about several amendments which were proposed during discussion, but ultimately failed to receive enough support around the council table.
Coun. David Grove motioned to change the plan’s target implementation date from 2050 to 2040 in order to signal the importance of addressing the climate emergency, but failed to gain enough support for that amendment to pass.
Coun. Cynthia Day – who became emotional when talking about the need for immediate collective action on the climate emergency earlier in the meeting – then motioned to direct staff to report back on the implications of advancing the target date to 2040, but that motion also failed to gain enough votes to pass.
READ MORE: Colwood pushes back completion date for Latoria roundabout