Clearview to strike climate action committee
Clearview council has voted in favour of taking multiple steps to address climate action, including appointing a Climate Action Committee.
In April, councillor Doug McKechnie was encouraged by residents of his ward to table a motion calling for the development of a Climate Action Plan, and for the township to look at all operations through a climate action lens.
In a six-part June 13 motion, council directed CAO John Ferguson to bring back a plan.
A first step in the process will be to consult with the community at large, service clubs, the Creemore BIA, the Clearview Chamber of Commerce, and community hall volunteers.
“We have to do some work in the community to get people looking at our community from a similar lens and establishing what they feel will be the gaps in that process and/or the future needs,” he said at the council meeting. “This can lead to a variety of different outcomes and priorities and then we can implement the action afterwards.” Council approved drafting a terms of reference for the Climate Action Committee, directed the CAO to confirm full membership to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and explore engagement opportunities for climate protection and funding.
The motion recognizes a climate crisis exists and directs the CAO to continue to implement the most recent best practices that reduce emissions and develop with the community greater economic and social resiliency while recognizing the increased probability of sudden climate events. The motion also initiates a Community Economic Development (CED) process.
“The community economic development strategy absolutely identifies natural capital as the key piece of the entire process,” said Ferguson. “Frankly, if you don’t have natural capital you really don’t have anything else so it’s an important ingredient within the five capitals that I am going to suggest is the lens we use.”
