by Noreen Wise
With so much division and chaos in the United States right now, and the worrisome feeling that we’re falling behind on the substantial climate action progress we made in 2019, it’s inspiring to learn of a North American city that is all in on climate action forward motion right now, even during covid. Hurray!
Ottawa, the Washington DC of Canada, ROCKS!
Ottawa’s “Climate Action Master Plan” is impressive with it’s simple, straightforward mission statement, tangible targets, guiding principles and priority actions laid out in a concise one-pager. This is the ideal recipe for success. And success in carbon reduction was Ottawa’s prologue in creating their Master Plan: 14% cut in the city’s carbon emissions from 2012-2018, and a 36% reduction in carbon emissions by corporations during this time.
“The Climate Change Master Plan is the city’s overarching framework to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and respond to the current and future effects of climate.” ~City of OttawaOttawa’s Climate Action Master Plan Guiding Principles:
- Responsibility – everyone in the community is responsible and needs to lower energy consumption and mitigate risks
- Collaboration – all levels of government, all corporations, all citizens, utilities and stakeholders must work together to effect change and develop solutions
- Municipal Leadership – the city will take the lead in fostering a joint partnership between corporations and the community
- Coordination – the long term agenda must be strategic and harmonized
- Equity and Inclusion – all decision-making processes must be equitable and inclusive
Thank you, Ottawa! We’ll just follow your example.🌳
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