Positive Voices hosted an all-candidates Forum on the Environment on 6 October, ahead of the municipal election,

We’'ll post the recording here soon.

Some candidates weren’t sure why we focused on the environment.

That may provide a clue about how seriously they take climate change and environmental protection.

Giving them the benefit of the doubt, here are a few reasons.

Climate Emergency

\We can start with the conviction, shared by many people across the age spectrum, that there is nothing more important and urgent affecting humanity. Or as Greta Thunberg puts it, perhaps we should start acting like our house is on fire.

Planning for change

Organisations like the C40 Mayors’ group have shown that if we rethink society - particularly urban environments - we can reduce emissions by design. Imagine not having to think about making better choices, because our communities have built solutions into their daily lives.

Think global, act local

When we think about addressing climate change, it’s easy to assume that action has to come from national governments or international agreements. But municipalities influence about 50% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and most levers to reduce those are under local government control. Or to put it another way: housing, transportation, community amenities and services such as parks and recreation - are also climate issues.

Empowered to act

There’s growing evidence showing that climate change has myriad impacts on health, social inequality, global migration, the economy and more. So it follows that taking action on emissions and environmental protection are essential if we want to safeguard the quality of life that we love so much in West Vancouver.

The Great Derangement

Understanding the evidence and still not acting is an attitude which many people - particularly young people - cannot fathom. We at Positive Voices believe that coming together to mobilise action and focussing on solutions is a critical part of coping with the scale of the challenge.