CLIMATE ACTION MUKOKA FORCES DISTRICT TO TURN ‘NEW LEAF’

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

MUSKOKA  — If at first you don’t succeed ….

That’s the success story of Climate Action Muskoka (CAM).

The environmentalists who were miffed at being initially rebuffed late last fall by the District of Muskoka got the “best Christmas gift” they could ask for in the waning days before the holiday break.

In an eleventh hour vote, Monday, Dec. 21 — the darkest day of 2020 — councillors “brought light, hope — and the best Christmas present ever to the people of Muskoka,” says a CAM release.

By “unanimously passing A New Leaf:  Muskoka’s Climate Strategy to address the Climate Crisis, with a goal of ensuring a safe, just and healthy future.”

“This strategy names the climate crisis as an emergency requiring immediate action,” said CAM spokesperson, Melinda Zytaruk. “It brings strong policy leadership and firm targets which put climate action at the fore-front of all decision-making.”

She stated that A New Leaf also provides for strong partnership between the community and the district, and praised the work of Kevin Boyle, climate initiatives coordinator and his team.

Zytaruk urged the district to make immediate policy changes in 2021 requiring de-carbonization of all new builds in Muskoka and retro-fitting of existing buildings, conversion of the district fleet to electric with provision of district-wide charging infrastructure, and finally promotion of low-carbon leisure activities through the development of active infrastructure for walking, biking, hiking, canoeing, snowshoeing etc.

“Listening to the recent delegations from CAM has prompted us to consider the opportunity to bring forward a more comprehensive, collaborative strategy for your consideration,” Christy Doyle, director of environmental and watershed programs, told council according to the release. She pointed out that doing anything meaningful requires an all-hands-on-deck approach.

A New Leaf, includes the district’s plan to reduce its own carbon footprint. It also embraces as a guiding framework the climate emergency resolution proposed by CAM calling for a “greater than 50 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030, reaching zero by 2050 and development of a community climate action plan (CAP), with input from a diverse, representative community working group, which will regularly review and update the CAP.

Councillor Nancy Alcock urged all councillors to sign up individually on the CAM website to take the 50% by 2030 Community Carbon Challenge to demonstrate leadership on climate to their constituents.

CAM says Muskoka joins countries, municipalities, businesses and global citizens in raising its ambition to address the climate crisis ahead of the 2021 COP26 international climate conference.

It says some countries have revised their de-carbonization goals upwards, noting that 50% by 2030 is now considered insufficient to keep the heating below the 1.5C degrees over pre-industrial levels.

CAM is an inclusive, non-partisan group of citizens concerned about climate change in Muskoka.

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Sue McKenzie for Climate Action Muskoka

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