September 2008 Listserv

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NORTHERN CLIMATE CHANGE NETWORK LISTSERV, Sept/08– Issue 12
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IN THE BC NEWS...

Premier announces Western Climate Initiative release of design recommendations

On September 23^rd, Premier Campbell announced the release of a proposed comprehensive cap and trade program report, designed by the Western Climate Initiative (WCI). The WCI was launched in February 2007 by the governors of Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon, and have since been joined by Washington, Montana, Utah, BC, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. The WCI Partners share a commitment to identify, evaluate and implement collective and cooperative ways to address climate change. They have designed a pioneering stand-alone regional cap-and-trade program that will immediately begin to address climate change in the absence of broader national or international standards. “The WCI cap-and-trade program is designed in such a way that it can provide a model for, be integrated into, or work in conjunction with any future U.S. or Canadian emissions-reduction programs.” The WCI hopes that the program will “slash climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions, spur growth in new green technologies, help build a strong clean-energy economy and reduce dependence on foreign oil.”

BC Climate Action Charter: More BC communities commit to carbon neutrality by 2012

The BC Government has announced that as of September 18^th, “133 local governments are now signed on to the B.C. Climate Action Charter with the Province and the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM), committing to become carbon neutral by 2012. Local governments that sign the B.C. Climate Action Charter pledge to become carbon neutral, and measure and report on their community’s greenhouse gas emissions profile, and work to create compact, more energy efficient communities.” Details.

BC unveils new Climate Action Plan in June, and Climate Action Team report in August

The B.C. government unveiled in June its Climate Action Plan to meet its target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by a third by 2020. Premier Campbell stated that "The plan outlines a road map to a new, prosperous green economy for British Columbia, with a wide range of specific actions which will make the province more efficient, competitive and productive while reducing greenhouse gases." Subsequent to the release of the Climate Action Plan, on August 6^th British Columbia’s Climate Action Team presented its recommendations for strategies and interim emissions targets for 2012 and 2016 to assist the Province in achieving its emission reduction target of 33 per cent by 2020. According to the Team, the report Meeting British Columbia’s Targets: A Report from the B.C. Climate Action Team establishes economically viable interim targets and recommended comprehensive strategies that will bridge the gap to the 2020 goal. Mark Jaccard, a prominent BC economist at SFU and long-time advocate for climate change action, provided modelling to estimate the emission reductions of some of the recommended policy options put forward by the Climate Action Team.

PIBC Annual Conference addressed how to plan for climate change

The Planning Institute of British Columbia’s 2008 Conference and Annual General Meeting were held in Prince George, June 10 - 13, 2008. The conference examined the critical and timely issues of climate change and its relationship to the planning profession. The proceedings will be available online through the PIBC website in the near future. Resources North and several partners coordinated a session of 4 presentations which explored a range of potential climate change impacts for rural communities, introduced vulnerability assessment and adaptation planning approaches being used in rural settings, and illustrated the role of the Northern Climate Change Network and other extension groups in disseminating information. Links to the presentations of this session are provided below.

Cindy Pearce, Mountain Labyrinths Inc. – “Integrating Climate Change Adaptation in Rural Community Development”
Jenny Fraser, Ministry of Environment – “Climate Change Impacts, and Resources for Community Adaptation”
Brian Frenkel, Municipality of Vanderhoof & Tim Williamson, NRCan – “Climate Change and Forest-based Communities: The Case of Vanderhoof”
Dave Leman, Resources North Association – “Northern Climate Change Network: Helping Communities Adapt to Climate Change”

NEWS FROM CANADA...

Canadians for Climate Leadership - Former PMs join a call for action

Five of Canada’s former Prime Ministers have joined the newly formed ‘Canadians for Climate Leadership’ group and the related ‘PowerUP Canada’ campaign in a call for urgent action on climate change. Joe Clark, Kim Campbell, John Turner, Paul Martin, and Jean Chretien have united with leaders in academia, science, business and the environment to demand that the federal government do much more to deal with climate change. "I am very concerned by the lack of decisive action by Ottawa on climate change," Clark, a former Conservative leader and prime minister, said in a related press release. "We are falling further behind other comparable nations, and simply cannot afford another round of posturing and denial in this next election - more than ever, we need a clear and honest commitment by all parties for strong, simple and effective climate laws." In a statement prepared by the group, federal government leaders are urged to develop policies which will help address climate change concerns by ‘getting serious about climate change, acting now, sharing the challenges with strong leadership, making emission cuts pay off, embracing uncertainty, and keeping it simple’.

Natural Resources Canada releases new climate change impact report

In 2008, Natural Resources Canada released a major new Climate Change report: From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a Changing Climate 2007. The report “reflects the advances made in understanding Canada’s vulnerability to climate change during the past decade”, “discusses current and future risks and opportunities that climate change presents to Canada”, and “is based on a critical analysis of existing knowledge, drawn from the published scientific and technical literature and from expert knowledge.” The lead authors of the BC chapter of the report are Dr. Ian Walker of UVic and Dr. Robin Sydneysmith of UBC; among numerous other contributing authors to the BC chapter are Dr. Brian Menounos of UNBC and Tim Williamson of Natural Resources Canada. Details.

Key Findings in the BC chapter of the report are that:

Many regions and sectors will experience increasing water shortages.
Increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather and related natural hazards will impact critical infrastructure.
The forests, forest industry and forestry-dependent communities are vulnerable to increasing climate-related risks, including pest infestations and forest fires.
Climate change will exacerbate existing stresses on fisheries.
The agricultural sector faces both positive and negative impacts from climate change.
Integrating climate change adaptation into decision-making is an opportunity to enhance resilience and reduce the long-term costs and impacts of climate change.

Arctic Ice Cap melts at a near-record pace in 2008

In a joint announcement between NASA and the University of Colorado at Boulder on September 16^th 2008, the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) published data showing that the trend in greater melting of arctic sea ice continued during the 2008 melt season. NSIDC scientists provide Arctic Sea Ice News & Analysis content, with partial support from NASA. In a press release, NSIDC states that the Arctic sea ice cover “appears to have reached its minimum extent for the year, the second-lowest extent recorded since the dawn of the satellite era. While slightly above the record-low minimum set in 2007, this season further reinforces the strong negative trend in summertime sea ice extent observed over the past thirty years.” According to the Goddard Space Flight Center, in 2008 the arctic sea ice reached the annual minimum extent of 4.52M km². “This minimum is the second lowest extent recorded since 1979 and is below the 1979 to 2000 average minimum by 2.24M km².” Martin Sommerkorn, senior climate adviser of the Worldwide Fund for Nature’s Arctic program in Oslo, Norway, commented in a September news release, “If you take reduced ice thickness into account, there is probably less ice overall in the Arctic this year than in any other year since monitoring began. This is also the first year that the Northwest Passage over the top of North America, and the Northeast Passage over the top of Russia, are both free of ice. There are already signs that species such as polar bears are experiencing negative effects as climate change erodes the ice platform on which they rely. These changes are also affecting the peoples of the Arctic whose traditional livelihoods depend on healthy ecosystems. As that ice goes, Arctic waters absorb more heat, adding to global warming. This is not just an Arctic problem, it is a global problem, and it demands a global response." Details. Related: WWF statement; Visit NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center to download visualizations of the 2008 arctic sea ice melt.

Climate Action Network of Canada

The Climate Action Network of Canada publishes a weekly newsletter of national and international articles related to climate change. Some of these stories are directly relevant to our region and may be of interest to you. Complete details are available at: http://www.climateactionnetwork.ca/e/, or you can sign-up directly with CANC.

Resources North Association