The City of Quesnel has received funding from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) to hire a carbon review coordinator.
FCM have provided $125,000 towards the two-year contract position and council has approved $31,507.12 from the city’s carbon reserve fund to pay the remainder of the consultant’s salary.
The person in this role will assist the city with moving greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction and climate change adaption policies forward.
Mayor Bob Simpson says one of the priorities for the carbon review coordinator is to create an action plan that is implementable.
“This individual is technically focused on corporate greenhouse gas emissions,” he says. “[The City of Quesnel] has to take steps with our fleet and take steps with our buildings to reduce out footprint but because we’re a service delivery agency, we need the citizens of the community to engage with us because the larger GHG reduction will be in the community.
“At best we will have some nominal effect but if we can engage the whole community in a climate action plan, then we will have a greater affect.”
Director of development services Tanya Turner says expertise in the area of greenhouse gas emissions in our community and the potential impacts of climate change will assist the city and broader community in determining actions that will be financially beneficial for emission reductions and adaption planning.
The plan will have the city work towards meeting a 33 percent reduction of GHG below 2007 levels by 2020 and an 80 percent reduction by 2050.
“As with the other governments at all levels, federal and provincial and across the globe, we are not meeting these targets,” says Turner, “This individual will be responsible for developing a greenhouse gas reduction plan and implementing operational and institutional changes that will ensure long-term greenhouse gas reductions and move projects from the planning stage to the implementation stage.”
Specific actions the new carbon review coordinator will undertake include:
Year 1
- Review and consolidate all existing corporate and community plans, actions, and objectives.
- Perform gap analysis with department and community leaders on items not previously identified for emissions reductions and the areas of adaptation and mitigation that will impact both community and corporate sectors.
- Separate into corporate and community actions.
- Initiate actions identified in gap analysis for emissions reductions.
- Identify attainable corporate targets for emission reductions.
- Develop a plan to identify actionable items to move toward adaptation and mitigation.
- Review plan with City Manager and Finance Department.
- Work with department heads to identify corporate actions and identify future actions.
Year 2
- Educate department heads and community leaders on ways to reduce municipal GHG emissions.
- Submit local action plan to reduce GHG emissions to Council
- Develop City Energy Consumption and Reduction Plan, Policies, and Initiatives
- Conduct a corporate Fleet Review
- Review the Landfill Policy with direct recommendations on carbon emissions
- Assess recycling initiatives
- Assess composting Initiatives
- Consult on floodplain Policy
- Consult on a Water Conservation Policy
- Develop the Local Action Plan Implementation Schedule
Director Turner says the city has had some good fortune with the hunt for this consultant and have found someone from the University of British Columbia who is an instructor in carbon calculations.
He will be introduced to the community on July 1.
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