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Richmond committed to combatting climate change
The impact of climate change is closer to home than we thought. A recent report, published by Environment and Climate Change Canada, revealed that Canada is warming up twice as fast as the rest of the world. As a result, we have already experienced more extreme weather, summer droughts, wildfires, and flooding. Of particular concern to Richmond is the threat of coastal flooding caused by rising sea level over thecoming decades. The City is spending more than $11 million annually for flood protection and drainage infrastructure and maintenance to offset any potential future threats.
Richmond has long been recognized as a leader in fighting against climate change. For instance, the City has reduced its overall greenhouse gas emissions by 12 per cent between 2007 and 2015, despite the population increasing by a similar percentage during the same period.
But we know that more work is urgently needed to fight climate change. It is for this reason that City Council passed a resolution this past March declaring a climate emergency with an intention of adopting more aggressive targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions consistent with the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations. The Panel finds that in order to mitigate the disastrous impact of climate change it is critical to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. To achieve this end, global net human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) need to be drastically reduced in the coming decades.
Currently, the City has set targets of reducing our GHG emissions by 30 per cent from 2007 levels by 2030 and 80 per cent by 2050. They are now developing strategies to allow us to increase those targets to a minimum 40 per cent decrease in emissions below 2007 levels by 2030 and achieve net zero GHG emissions by 2050.
Over the coming months, the City will undertake extensive community and stakeholder engagement to confirm support for these new targets and the necessary steps to achieve them.
Meanwhile, the City is also in the process of developing a strategy and consultation plan to ban single use plastic bags, plastic drinking straws and styrofoam food containers. This is another step the City is taking to stop plastic pollution which is a big threat to the oceanic environment.
All in all, climate change is a global issue and international, national, and regional collaborations are required to address it. But change has to begin at home and Richmond is leading by example.
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