HB’s Joint Climate (In)Action Committee held one of its quarterly tea breaks this past week.

I’m still clinging to hope that this group will accomplish something in my lifetime that actually promotes mitigation of greenhouse emissions or adaptation to the failure to do so.

If there’s reason for hope, it is in signs that the elected councillors sitting on this committee have finally had enough of planning and are becoming more insistent about action.

But I must say, the councillors carry the blame for inaction thus far. 

For years, the impetus and preparatory work of the committee has rested in the hands of mid-level planners at the regional (chiefly) and other councils. And these planners, like the carpenter using the hammer, do what they know how to do best … plan. Producing splendiferous, intimidating flow charts depicting years-long workstreams, planning frameworks, risk assessments. When there’s work to be done now, even low-hanging fruit.

No one in charge politically has ever, it appears, said to the planners …

Give us five actions to initiate next week. Five more for the next quarter. And five more for the balance of the year. And come back to us at the quarterly meetings reporting on the progress made. 

Finally, this week there were some signs of revolt amongst the guilty elected. Councillors at least voiced the word ‘action’ repeatedly and earnestly, imploring the planners to abbreviate their planning and cut to the chase. And finally one presentation, on biomass, put a serious action proposition to the Committee (see accompanying post, Biomass … an energy solution for HB?).

Hopefully the brand-new climate strategic advisor at HBRC, who bore the brunt of the impatience expressed, got the message. Less hui, more doey. But she will need support from the top – that means her Chief Executive Nic Peet and the new Chair of the Committee, Regional Councillor Xan Harding.

But maybe even more day-to-day horsepower is required. I’m thinking of the hiring of John Hamilton by our Regional Civil Defence Group as a senior independent driver of implementing the changes required in that domain. It’s called mana.

Are our councils serious about climate change action or just a quarterly tea break? BayBuzz is standing by, ready to applaud.

BayBuzz energy and climate reporting is sponsored by Unison in support of independent local journalism.