Saanich's Climate Challenge

The occasion of the Mayor’s Annual Address to Council is an opportunity to reflect on Saanich Council’s commitment to the environment over the past year. The District of Saanich has long been a leader in environmental sustainability, and 2006/07 has been no exception.

This year, Saanich Council continued to show leadership in protecting our environment. Council has implemented a carbon-neutral policy, including emission caps on all municipal facilities and operations and funding energy upgrades for the District's buildings through offsets. This carbon-neutral policy is an excellent first step toward curtailing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing energy consumption.

Another example of Council’s environmental leadership is the approval of the Green Buildings Policy that applies to private development projects. The Policy establishes a series of building options that reduce a project’s ecological footprint.

Saanich also supported the CRD Community Energy Plan. Four years ago, the CRD initiated the Plan, which recorded “baseline” GHG emission levels and set out a five-year strategy for reducing emissions 15.6% below 1995 levels and cutting back energy consumption by 2.84 million gigajoules. The Plan targets six areas for action, including improving energy efficiency in buildings, increasing transportation efficiency, encouraging energy-efficient land use planning, diversifying energy supplies, educating residents and businesses, and showing local government leadership.

The Community Energy Plan will be presented to the CRD Board for adoption in the New Year. Support from Saanich is a strong indication that it takes its environmental responsibility seriously, and it sets an excellent example for other municipalities in the region. Implementation of the Plan will put our region on track to meet the provincial target of 33 per cent emissions reduction by 2020.

As the New Year approaches, Saanich also has other opportunities to demonstrate leadership on climate protection. Saanich is developing a Sustainability Plan that will address greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption in our communities. The development and implementation of this plan is a great opportunity for Saanich to become a real leader in combating climate change.

Saanich can be the first local jurisdiction to take steps to encourage energy-efficient land use planning, diversify energy supplies, enhance alternative transportation options, and engage residents and businesses in our climate challenge. As Saanich implements its strategy, it must reach out to the rest of the community to participate in the implementation. After all, the climate affects us all and we all have a role to play in protecting it.

As a community, we look to our local government for leadership. We have a narrow time window in which to avert the most harmful effects of climate change. Saanich is a proud leader for the environment, and I know that Council will not shy away from this challenge and opportunity to once again be a pioneer and example to other jurisdictions in our region, and the province.

This year, Saanich has once again demonstrated its ongoing commitment to the environment. I hope you will join me in encouraging Council to maintain its leadership as we confront the climate challenge together with the Province.