Charlottetown residents are showing increasing support for a municipal gas reduction plan, says the city’s sustainability officer.
“I think we have a culture here of caring for the environment,’’ says Ramona Doyle.
“We recognize that we have finite resources. Living on an Island makes us more aware of that.’’
The municipality has been busy seeking public input to help in developing a greenhouse gas reduction plan.
Doyle finds both the volume and content of input encouraging.
Roughly 150 people have responded to an online public engagement survey that opened in early January. Others are giving feedback in person, like they did during a public consultation held Monday at the Confederation Centre Public Library.
Get the details
- To learn more about Charlottetown’s community greenhouse reduction plan, or to give input, visit city.charlottetown.pe.ca and click on the Charlottetown Energy box.
Doyle says considerable talk has focused on adjusting transportation modes to be more sustainable.
Public transit usage continues to rise but bicycling, walking and carpooling to work and other destinations are seen as areas with plenty of room to grow.
Doyle adds many newcomers are making their way to Charlottetown from places where so-called active (human powered) transportation is a regular part of daily life.
“So I think there’s a shift but it’s a slow shift but it really needs to be supported by policy and infrastructure,’’ she says.
Making buildings, from commercial to residential, more efficient is also a key focus for reducing emissions.
“This is where it really hits home for people because it's an opportunity for them to both save money and lessen their impact on the environment,’’ says Doyle.
“So how can we support sort of that change towards more efficient homes?’’
The greenhouse gas reduction plan is currently in the second of five phases with public consultation and visioning. The first phase saw the establishment of a community energy greenhouse and gas inventory.
Next comes the evaluation of proposed measures for reducing emissions; drafting and adopting the plan; and finally implementing the actions and monitoring success.
Doyle notes many communities are targeting to be 100 percent renewable by 2050, adding that is definitely a target on the table for discussion for Charlottetown.
“I think people are very engaged and want to take very aggressive action when it comes to the environment and climate change…and yes we have a small footprint in terms of a global scale but we need to lead by example,’’ she says.
“We need to show what we can do here.’’
