REQUEST FOR DECISION
DATE: April 22, 2020 Report No. DEV-20-021
TO: Laurie Hurst, Chief Administrative Officer
FROM: Tricia deMacedo, Planner 2 and Bill Brown, Director of Development Services
SUBJECT:
Title
Review of the Esquimalt Climate Emergency Response Report
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
That Council:
1. receive the Esquimalt Climate Emergency Response Report as attached to Staff Report No. DEV-20-021 for information;
2. refer the Report to the Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) for review and comments; and
3. direct staff to prepare a staff report for Council consideration incorporating the comments from the EAC and outlining the feasibility and cost implications associated with implementing the Report’s recommendations.
Body
RELEVANT POLICY:
Climate Action Charter
Climate Emergency Declaration 2019.
Official Community Plan
STRATEGIC RELEVANCE:
Develop and implement strategies that reduce impact on the environment consistent with our Climate Action Charter goals.
BACKGROUND:
In October of 2019, Council directed staff to prepare a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Climate Action Planning Project in accordance with an approved Terms of Reference. Community Energy Association (CEA) was selected as the successful bidder, and the organization has begun work on the project. The first deliverable for the Climate Action Planning Project is the Climate Emergency Response Report (Appendix A). As stated in the Terms of Reference, this Report was to meet the following objective: “To provide short term, immediate actions, that can be funded from existing budgets or grants, to begin addressing the climate emergency.”
Community Energy Association (CEA) was asked to identify a minimum of 5 key actions that could be implemented within the 2020 budget cycle to address Council’s climate emergency motion. Actions were required to be easily implementable, with low or no cost, in a short time frame. The actions could be primarily related to community emissions or could be directed at corporate emissions. As part of the preparation of the Report, CEA interviewed key staff members in March. Staff also received a presentation from CEA on the proposed actions, and was asked for their feedback. Due to the desire to move as quickly as possible to bring Council some immediate actions to address the climate emergency declaration, public engagement was not a required element of this deliverable, however, future stages of the project will involve a great deal of consultation with the residents of Esquimalt.
ISSUES:
1. Rationale for Selected Option
CEA has met the requirements of the first deliverable of the Climate Action Planning Project. The recommended key priority actions could result in significant Green House Gas reduction between now and 2030. The proposed actions align with other local governments undertaking climate emergency response plans and many of these actions have already been undertaken by other municipalities locally. Staff are now seeking Council feedback on the proposed actions. In order to assess the feasibility of implementing the proposed actions and budget implications, it is strongly recommended that the draft Report be referred to the Chief Administrative Officer and that staff report back to Council on the feasibility and budget implications associated with the proposed recommendations in the Report. It is also recommended that the Report be referred to the Environmental Advisory Committee for review.
2. Organizational Implications
Once referred to the Chief Administrative Officer, the Report will be circulated to the Directors who will review the Report’s recommendations and assess the feasibility of implementation and budget implications of the recommendations.
3. Financial Implications
There are no significant financial implications to the recommendations of the staff report; however, implementation of several of the recommendations of the Climate Emergency Response Report will require financial outlay. The staff report which will come back to Council will include a more detailed financial assessment of the recommendations and potential grant monies available.
4. Sustainability & Environmental Implications
There are no sustainability implications of the staff report recommendations. Implementation of the Climate Emergency Report will however be extremely important in order to move the Township towards its climate goals. Greenhouse gas reduction estimates are available in the report for several of the actions, while others are more difficult to quantify.
5. Communication & Engagement
Referral of this report to the EAC will be an important first step in the proposed engagement strategy. To this point, the EAC role in the Climate Action Plan has not been formalized. In addition, the recommendation for the formation of a staff working group to guide the project will assist with smoother review of deliverables in the future as we move through the project.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. That Council;
1. receive the Esquimalt Climate Emergency Response Report as attached to staff report DEV-20-021 for information;
2. refer the Report to the Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) for review and comments; and
3. direct staff to prepare a staff report for Council consideration incorporating the comments from the EAC and outlining the feasibility and cost implications associated with implementing the Report’s recommendations.
2. That Council provide alternative direction to staff.