I am noticing a change in tone regarding apocalyptic climate change and the dangers of CO2. Most people of a certain age recognize that the weather is different than when we were kids. There doesn’t seem to be as much snow here in Ottawa during the winters and the Rideau canal doesn’t freeze over for as many days. There are differing opinions though about the extreme weather patterns and forest fires with climate alarmists saying there is a dramatic rise in incidents. But its easy to find evidence to the contrary. For example “ … as average atmospheric temperatures have risen from 1970 to 2017, Canadian forest fires have declined sharply in number and show little obvious trend in areas burnt.” https://www.fraserinstitute.org/article/canadas-burning-because-of-bad-forest-policy-not-climate-change
I attended a meeting at the Ruskin Recreational and Cultural Centre near Pembroke last Wednesday evening. It’s a little over an hours’ drive and Google decided to direct us off highway 17 onto a smaller and less busy road. The scenery I’m sure was exquisite but it was dark and even with the brights on, the road was tricky, so the landscape was not appreciated. In any case, we arrived to discover a full parking lot, only five minutes late. Speaker Donna Burns from the OLA spoke about property rights and how most of us don’t know we have them. Maggie Hope Braun from Gather2030 and KICKEI then took the stage and gave an excellent presentation on municipalities and the United Nations Partners for Climate Protection Program. Maggie discussed the five milestones in the program that municipalities were expected to achieve.
The program’s milestones include:
- Baseline Data Collection: Municipalities collect extensive data on energy use, waste management, and emissions sources, often requiring costly technological upgrades and data-sharing mechanisms.
- Setting Emissions Reduction Targets: Councils commit to ambitious, long-term goals, such as achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, binding future administrations to global mandates.
- Developing Local Action Plans: Municipalities are tasked with creating comprehensive plans to meet emissions targets, often requiring external consultants or reallocation of significant staff resources.
- Implementation: Measures include retrofitting public buildings, purchasing electric vehicles, promoting urban densification, and adopting “smart city” technologies.
- Ongoing Monitoring and Reporting: Municipalities must continually track emissions and progress, creating perpetual administrative obligations.
How many of us know about this program and what it is costing our towns and cities? We were encouraged to ask – its budget time – a good time to engage with your local elected officials and find out what we are paying for. Estimates of the cost are in the millions ($7-$190).
Hard to say how many people attended the meeting but the parking lot was full and there weren’t too many empty chairs. A good guess would be around 300 people.
Maggie is doing an excellent job of raising awareness of the United Nations’ interference in local government. For more information and to subscribe to KICLEI, visit https://kiclei.substack.com/p/kiclei-homepage.
Clearly, more people are listening and speaking out about the alternatives to net zero and sustainable development. For far too long, the most frequent voices municipalities heard were those supporting the climate change message of apocalyptic CO2 hysteria. Bit by bit, this is changing.