Residents felt more informed after presentations on municipal green initiatives

Climate Action Newmarket-Aurora brought residents together for a town hall where Newmarket and York Region staff outlined local efforts to cut emissions and prepare for climate impacts

Climate Action Newmarket-Aurora (CANA) hosted a town hall event “Local Action Brings Hope” last May. Town of Newmarket and York Region staff with specific responsibilities for climate-related policies gave short presentations on some of the actions being taken to both reduce climate emissions and prepare for the effects of climate change.

CANA asked how well informed participants felt about local municipal green solutions efforts, before and after the presentations. The responses showed that the presentations were effective; people felt much better informed after the presentations. Even some CANA members felt better informed after.

In their written comments, many participants felt more hopeful after the presentations. They wrote about local government green initiatives, such as electrification of buses and other vehicles; supports for active transportation; local green building standard proposals; storm water management; and other policies. There were also comments about the lack of climate progress, and even ambition, on the part of provincial and federal governments.

Other input concerned the barriers and challenges for individuals to demand more progress from government and business. There were concerns about the costs, especially with the cancellation of support programs, but also about a sense that government and business do not really care about the climate concerns of individuals.

MPs and MPPs seem to respond, if at all, by returning the party line and links to government web pages that don’t address concerns. People also find it hard to learn just who to contact; nobody seems to have “climate change” in their job description. This leads to people giving up.

Added to this is the amount of misinformation on climate change, and the way it has been politicized and polarized as an issue. This makes it hard to talk rationally with family and friends, and for some it feels dangerous to speak about it at work.

A number of ways to break those barriers were shared. Many centred on how to speak on the issue with family, friends and politicians, and how to connect with supportive community groups. Doing so helps educate, and more knowledge builds more confidence, and more ability to counter misinformation with facts, without confrontation.

Want to know more about the town hall? Read the Power of Yes column on Nov. 18 and the article just after the event, on May 8.

Read this article on Newmarket Today.