Group targets carbon neutrality on central Island

| Sourced From BCLocalnews.com |

A sustainability group wants to localize carbon neutrality and it’s looking to the Regional District of Nanaimo for assistance.

Laurie Gourlay, president of the Mid-Island Sustainability and Stewardship Initiative, approached the RDN last week about formally establishing a climate action team in its Regional Growth Strategy and Official Community Plan, both of which are updated.

That team would focus on implementing MISSI’s Yellow Cedar proposal to create a program for citizens and businesses to purchase carbon offsets in the mid-Island area.

“A representative committee, from all sectors of the community and region … will substantially assist in the RDN’s goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to local climate change solutions,” said Gourlay. “A carbon neutral society will bring many changes and MISSI wishes to assist.”

The Yellow Cedar proposal was developed over the past year with assistance from the University of Victoria’s Environment Law Centre and discussions with both the public and private sector.

Chris Midgley, the RDN’s sustainability coordinator, said the proposal is interesting, if extremely complex.

“MISSI is going down a very complicated road with this proposal, but it’s an effort we support,” said MIdgley.

He stopped short of saying the RDN would create a climate action team and include it in the regional growth strategy immediately, but noted that local action is important.

“This is a great opportunity for citizens to get involved. We have mandates from the provincial government to reduce carbon and GHGs, which includes buying offsets beginning in 2012, and we intend to hit all of those targets.”

Midgley added that while a carbon neutral society is good in theory, it is actually impossible to achieve.

“We can’t move to zero – nobody can – but we can make every effort to reduce our carbon footprint locally,” he said.

The RDN works under several programs to meet carbon and greenhouse gas goals set out by the province, which aims to reduce emissions 33 per cent by 2020.

Gourlay said carbon credit validation and verification terms are complicated, expensive and favour huge land areas, usually well in the backcountry, as being defined for carbon sequestration.

“[Before] the World Commission on Environment and Development focused on international challenges,” said Gourlay. “No one thought much about the huge potential for local communities to contribute to sustainability and stewardship.”

MISSI is trying to tie in its proposal with the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December, where countries will attempt to develop a strategy to strengthen the Kyoto Protocol.

By Toby Gorman – Nanaimo News Bulletin

reporter2@nanaimobulletin.com

Posted on November 6, 2009 · in Global

Tagged as: Carbon Offsets • emissions reduction • GHG Emissions