Edmonton declares state of climate emergency, vows urgent action to reduce carbon emissions

The Edmonton skyline is seen from Forest Heights Park on Jan. 25, 2019. Ian Kucerak / Postmedia Edmonton has declared a state of climate emergency as part of its urgent response to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The designation follows council’s decision to move quickly on revamping the energy transition strategy deemed insufficient to meet the maximum 1.5 C temperature increase it agreed to as part of the 2018 Edmonton Declaration. This was a clear wake-up call to take action now and Mayor Don Iveson said part of the process is accepting the crisis for what it is. “This is an emergency and it requires our attention and our urgent care at the local level as well as the national and planetary level to respond to this crisis because the clock is ticking and we don’t have long,” Iveson told reporters after the 10-3 city council vote Tuesday morning. Councillors Jon Dziadyk, Mike Nickel and Tony Caterina voted against the emergency declaration. Before the declaration was tabled by Coun. Aaron Paquette, council approved an eight-point plan brought forward last Monday to align the emission targets with the city’s carbon budget . At the city’s current rate, it would exceed the […]

Click here to view original web page at Edmonton declares state of climate emergency, vows urgent action to reduce carbon emissions