Twolan warns climate change burden will fall heavily on municipalities

Local impacts of climate change were the focus of discussion at the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) annual general meeting on Feb. 17.

Chair Art Versteeg told about 40 people who attended the event at the Harriston branch of the County of Wellington Library that after years of government cutbacks, conservation authorities find themselves at the forefront in the race to adjust to new weather patterns and their effects.

“We’re a small agency and we have a limited budget,” said Versteeg, adding municipalities have stepped into the void in terms of funding and supporting the authority’s operations.

“It’s been a long time since the province has been a meaningful partner in conservation,” said chair Art Versteeg. “We have to continue to remind the province that municipalities shouldn’t have to carry the entire load.”

Even if upper tier levels of government were to up their contribution, municipalities will definitely play a key role in climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts, said Huron-Kinloss Mayor Mitch Twolan.

Having attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris as a representative of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities initiative, Twolan noted, “Over 70 per cent of greenhouse gases are produced in the cities … so clearly major cities and municipalities have a role to play.”

Twolan said all the high profile speakers at the conference last November and December stressed, “it will be up to local politicians to get things done.

“The onus, and it was said several times at the Paris conference, is on us … it will start with local councils and mayors. That’s what’s going to drive climate change.”

Twolan said the conference sent a clear message that alternative energy sources must become primary sources.

“The message that was delivered over and over and over was more wind turbines and more solar, more renewables.”

As someone who comes from a “nuclear community,” Twolan was surprised to find “nuclear was not mentioned once.”

And yet, he said, “Obviously nuclear power has to be part of the solution.”

Daunting target

But even so, Twolan believes a zero-emissions world is a daunting target.

“We need to build 51 nuclear power stations a year until 2150 to get to zero emissions – that’s how bad it is.”

MCVA general manager Phil Beard told the group that in 2014 the authority began a major restructuring of services in light of two realities: “the growing impact of climate change and a shortage of funds.”

“We’re taking carbon that has been stored in the ground for millions of years in the form of fossil fuels and releasing it back into the atmosphere,” said Beard, noting the consequences of global warming are obvious and immediate.

 “A warmer climate means much more chaotic weather patterns and, increasingly, the probability of extreme weather events.”

That includes, Beard explained, “more ice storms. We had two in 2013.”

He also pointed out that existing stormwater management systems were not designed to handle “the high intensity rainfall events that we’ve been having.”

That could spell trouble; he noted, for municipalities like Minto, which includes the community of Harriston, “the most flood-prone area in the watershed.”

Beard said the town and immediate area contain over $50 million worth of development.

“A major flood here would cost millions of dollars worth of damage to homes and businesses,” he added.

As the authority works to “focus on doing a few things really well,” Beard said, it is concentrating on projects such as promoting effective stormwater management and wetland preservation. In addition, planting trees to create windbreaks and shelters, including “living snow fences” in some areas, is being encouraged and facilitated.

Tree planting continues to be an increasingly important part of the authority’s work said Versteeg, noting over 54,000 trees were planted through MVCA initiatives last year.

“I’m convinced that planting trees is one of the most useful and cost-efficient things that we can do in terms of climate change,” he added.

As it reprioritizes, the MVCA is having to reduce the amount of resources expended on operation of conservation areas and maintaining non-essential infrastructure in order to focus on flood safety, erosion control and watershed stewardship.

“Our board believes business as usual is not an option, given the challenges that we face,” Beard stated.

 

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