Climate plan aims for net-zero by 2050

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This article was published 26/04/2023 (865 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The city’s new draft climate change action plan proposes that Brandon reach a net-zero target for greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 through several “big moves.”

Released late last week, the plan is being developed to replace the city’s 2013 environmental strategic plan by identifying the potential risks of climate change and what Brandon can do to combat it.

Public consultation started last September with an open house at Brandon City Hall and was followed up by other events and a pair of online surveys.

The introduction to the draft report claims Brandon is already feeling the effects of climate change.

“Over the last several years, Brandon has experienced a series of extreme weather events, including record-breaking heat waves, droughts, flash floods, major storms and severe air pollution from forest fires,” the report reads.

“Without deep reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions, these extreme events are projected to become worse over the coming decades as Brandon becomes warmer, wetter and wilder.”

To combat these events, the city suggests taking actions that either mitigate the effects of climate change by reducing emissions or adapt to climate change by increasing resiliency.

These suggestions have been boiled down to seven “big moves” that group similar initiatives together. Those include becoming a carbon-free corporation, transitioning to renewable energy, rethinking transportation, building resilient infrastructure, conserving and protecting nature, preparing for emergencies and consuming and producing sustainably.

Residents will have seen some mitigation efforts already underway, such as the ongoing drainage improvement in southeast Brandon and municipal programs that encourage residents to install sump pumps in case of flooding and install rain gardens.

Before the development of this new plan, Brandon has already made several efforts to reduce its carbon emissions.

That includes meeting the five milestones set out by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Partners for Climate Protection Program, launching the green cart compositing program, installing a gas capture and flaring system at the Eastview Landfill, becoming Manitoba’s first designated Bee City and constructing the new municipal airport terminal building to Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) gold certifications.

Feedback from the public expressed support for several measures under these headings. According to the city, more than 55 people attended the open house at city hall and approximately 1,000 people responded to the two online surveys.

They include preserving areas with sensitive ecosystems, creating emergency water sources in case of drought, addressing food security, creating a year-round municipal composting program, developing a low-cost tree planting program, expanding energy-efficient retrofitting programs for homes, including climate events in Brandon’s emergency management plans and create a protected network of bicycle paths to important places in the city.

Something many residents wanted, according to Brandon’s environmental co-ordinator Lindsay Hargreaves, was for Brandon to set an example and be an active participant in fighting climate change.

“The City of Selkirk is a smaller community than Brandon and is doing wonderful things when it comes to environment and climate change,” she said. “We’re [a city of] 52,000, so we can do the same, and we’re the second-[largest] city in Manitoba, so we should be because Winnipeg has their own plan in place under a similar framework.”

She applauded groups like Brandon’s Food Rescue Store — which diverts edible food from the landfill — and the Brandon Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation’s Brandon Energy Efficiency Program — which has done work to retrofit homes with more efficient technology — as two examples of community organizations supporting sustainability.

In 2019, the report states, Brandon emitted approximately 1,218,129 tonnes of carbon dioxide. Of that total, the city calculates it had direct or indirect control over 290,535 tonnes, with 21,234 tonnes of carbon dioxide stemming from the city’s activities as a corporate entity.

Percentagewise, the city estimates it has little to no control over 76 per cent of the community’s emissions, indirect control over 22 per cent of emissions and direct control over two per cent of emissions.

It’s the items it has the most direct control over, its own operations, that the city is hoping to reach net-zero emissions by 2045 ahead of the entire community by 2050.

Accordingly, the draft climate change plan acknowledges the city will be unable to cut its emissions to absolute zero by 2050. However, by introducing methods to sequester carbon, like planting trees or offsetting emissions by buying carbon offsets, the city hopes its emissions will balance out to nothing.

Some of the goals the city wants to accomplish will depend on partnerships with other organizations. For instance, encouraging the use of electric vehicles and heating will require Manitoba Hydro to produce greater amounts of clean electricity.

For tasks like implementing building codes that incorporate climate-friendly designs, the city states in the report it will need to pressure the province to apply them.

While the city can’t directly control whether its employees use zero-emissions vehicles, the draft plan states a desire to make that transition for its own vehicle fleets.

To reduce the carbon footprint of its operations, the city also suggests designing a new carbon-neutral building standard for its own facilities, retrofitting existing buildings to be more energy efficient and installing renewable energy technologies like solar panels.

Building on the existing green cart program, the plan also calls for Brandon to investigate the feasibility of operating it year-round.

To reduce automotive use and reduce the emissions they produce, the climate plan encourages the city to make Brandon Transit a more attractive method of commuting and to build active transportation networks to make it easier to commute via walking or riding a bicycle.

Currently, the city estimates that 90 per cent of transportation in the city is done using private cars, trucks or vans.

A sizable section of the draft plan breaks down several of the climate measures proposed, their potential impact, the time frame for their implementation and their potential cost.

Among the most expensive measures listed involve improving energy efficiency and access to renewable energy at an anticipated price tag of more than $500,000. However, the city states the work done will be worth it in the long run.

“Severe climate events and disasters are projected to cost the Canadian economy billions of dollars over the next several decades,” the city’s website says.

“While actions to reduce and adapt to climate change can be expensive up front, they will more than pay for themselves through avoided costs from climate-related physical damage.”

Going forward, the draft proposes the climate change action plan be updated every five years. A copy of the draft can be found at bit.ly/40CWI83.

Those with feedback on the draft plan are invited to contact Hargreaves by phone at 204-728-2171 or by email at l.hargreaves@brandon.ca.

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