Climate change remediation has its complications, contradictions, and big ambitions, a crowd of about 100 heard Thursday night at the Climate Change Town Hall hosted by Guelph MP Lloyd Longfield.
The Government of Canada has its thinking and action in the right place when it comes to helping communities built sustainability and resilience in a world increasingly impacted by global warming, Longfield indicated.
But it was not lost on many in the audience that the country is also dependent on fossil fuels and retail spending for its economic wellbeing.
Therein lies the contraction: How to act decisively on climate change while remaining dependent on behaviour that contributes to it? In answer to questions on this contradiction, Longfield acknowledged the complexities.
The meeting at the Italian Canadian Club was part of an ongoing, yearlong public consultation process around the federal government’s emerging strategic plan on climate change.
Longfield said because the impacts of climate change are felt at the community level, the government will rely on input from local communities to address the issue. He said 17 areas of the government are dedicated to the problem.
Longfield was joined in the consultation by Rob Kerr, the City of Guelph’s manager, community energy, and Kirby Calvert, a University of Guelph geography professor and climate change expert.
Given that severe weather events are becoming more frequent due to warming trends, Longfield said the federal government is investing in community-level infrastructure that is better able to manage storm water, and collect snow and rain. Some of those investments have been made in Guelph, he said.
Kirby said we know for a certainty that the average temperature of the planet has risen by 1.5 degrees Celsius since 1880, and that greenhouse gas emissions have increased from 280 to 380 parts per million over that time.
The weather patterns that are manifested as a result of this change must be managed at the local level, he said.
The Guelph area, like many other municipalities in southern Ontario, is experiencing, and will continue to experience warmer winters and more winter precipitation, he said.
If more of that winter precipitation falls in the form of rain, infrastructure will have to be improved to manage it, he said. More heat waves in the summer, as was experienced during the summer just past, and more ice storms in the winter can be expected, Calvert indicated.
It is time to think strategically about adapting to climate change, Calvert said, both in terms of managing the negative impacts locally, and by taking advantage of opportunities like a longer growing season.
Reliable, resilient energy systems will be a must. Developing a low carbon transportation system will be a major challenge. All levels of government will have to be involved, and working together, he said.
Kerr said a full 50 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions everywhere are the responsibility of municipalities, and those local governments have the responsibility of managing climate change impacts.
Previously, local governments invested in infrastructure on the basis of predictable climate, Kerr said. That is no longer possible. There is a growing infrastructure deficit or gap, he said, and climate change is a contributing factor.
Kerr said the benefits of reducing carbon emissions at the local level are profound. Green energy makes a community more resilient, less dependent on volatile fossil fuels, and fosters economic opportunities in green technology. Guelph is a major contributor to the solar energy industry, he said.
Kerr encouraged the federal government to consider incentives or bonuses for municipalities that implement green energy and resilient infrastructure initiatives.
Audience members demanded to know how the federal government could allow new fossil fuel infrastructure like pipelines to be built, given the climate challenges the country is facing.
Longfield said the balance between economic and environmental realities is a difficult one. While investing more heavily in sustainability initiatives, the government has to acknowledge that there is a global market for Canada’s natural resources, upon which the economy and employment are dependent. There is a federal focus on extracting those natural resources in a more sustainable manner, he said.
One audience member suggested the government take radical policy action to address the general consumer “gluttony” of our society. Calvert said it is clear that social norms and cultural values will have to change if the economy is to ultimately work for and not against us.
