To: City Councillors
Charlottetown: We demand an Emergency Resolution on Climate and Affordability
Dear Charlottetown City Council,
I am calling on you to pass an Emergency Resolution on Climate and Affordability. That means applying a climate and affordability lens to all municipal decisions to ensure the health of our community and our planet are a top municipal priority.
I also call on you to demand federal action to fund and facilitate municipal solutions, including:
1. Access to cheap, clean renewable energy: by funding grid upgrades, energy storage, and large-scale publicly-owned renewable energy projects, and implementing robust clean energy regulations, an ambitious emissions cap, and a plan to rapidly transition us off fossil fuels.
2. Universal green, affordable housing: through investment in zero-carbon, climate-safe public housing, a universal heat pump and retrofits program accompanied by tenant protections, and federal regulations to ensure all new builds are energy efficient and fully electric.
3. Affordable public transit: through a national strategy and a permanent federal funding mechanism, as well as resources for locally relevant shared mobility and active transportation initiatives.
4. Relief from climate impacts: by providing immediate and direct federal support for people and municipalities directly affected flooding, wildfires, extreme heat, and other disasters.
All new projects and policies, whether local, regional, or federal, must proceed in partnership with Indigenous peoples and in full alignment with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Onwards to a climate-safe and more affordable future,
Why is this important?
People in our community are struggling to pay their bills and afford basic necessities. All this as the climate crisis gets worse, year after year, putting our health and safety at risk. That's why we're calling on municipalities from coast to coast to coast to pass Emergency Resolution on Climate and Affordability.
It’s critical for municipalities to firmly commit to prioritize climate solutions that materially improve our lives now as well as safeguard our future. Municipalities must also raise a unified voice for federal support because many of the climate solutions that make life safer and more affordable are delivered at the municipal level, but local governments often face funding shortfalls and policy obstacles.
Everyone deserves access to reliable and resilient electricity that keeps our families and communities safe and connected, without destroying the planet. Everyone deserves access to affordable housing that keeps us warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Everyone deserves accessible, sustainable, and reliable transportation options. Everyone deserves decent, well-paying unionized jobs in a green economy. And all those directly affected by climate impacts deserve immediate and direct support.
We call on you to affirm your commitment to an affordable, safe future by immediately passing an Emergency Resolution on Climate Action and Affordability. Join a growing movement of municipalities standing up for bold climate action.
