Calgary councillors aren’t eager to follow in the footsteps of two other Alberta municipalities in formally declaring a climate emergency.
Early last week, Canmore town council voted unanimously to declare a state of climate emergency, recognizing the serious global effects resulting from climate change. Edmonton council also voted in favour of the declaration as part of its urgent response to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
When asked if there was interest in making a similar declaration in Calgary, Coun. Sean Chu laughed before saying there was no way he would let it happen.
“No way whatsoever. Over my dead body,” said Chu.
He called the move “peacocking” and said it worries people more than a municipal government should.
Coun. Ward Sutherland said he hasn’t heard anything from his fellow councillors on the topic.
“From my perspective, I think it’s overly dramatic and I certainly would not favour it,” said Sutherland. “The rationale behind that is simple, we do have an environmental policy that is one of the strongest ones in Canada, and we’ve been moving forward with many initiatives.”
Sutherland added that the city’s oil and gas industry is among the cleanest, so a state of emergency would send the wrong message.
Coun. Shane Keating said it isn’t part of their mandate as a municipal government.
“We can take a number of actions to help the climate but I’m not sure that we’re the right political body to be coming out and declaring things like that,” said Keating.
Coun. Ray Jones said it’s too early to consider a state of emergency declaration.
“The cities that have heavy industries should be addressing it and Calgary does not have a lot of heavy industry,” said Jones.
Only weeks ago, on Sept. 27, Calgary’s Municipal Plaza was filled with people participating in the Global Climate Strike . Protesters held signs demanding climate action, voicing their concerns and insisting they be heard.
Coun. Jyoti Gondek said Calgary implemented a resilient climate strategy before many other cities.
“Calgary has been the steward of water in Alberta, so we have been very aware of the impacts of climate and we’ve been doing everything we can to mitigate it,” said Gondek, adding that she would be interested in discussing the formal declaration if it comes before council.
Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra said he would also be interested in having a conversation.
“It would be an interesting conversation on council given that we’ve, unfortunately, pitted our oil and gas business against our climate goals. I’m personally of the opinion that they are not oppositional conversations to be having,” said Carra.
Coun. Peter Demong declined to comment.
— With files from Marie Conboy and Dustin Cook
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