Regional District Central Okanagan (RDCO) board members have decided to delay moving forward with a motion to declare a climate emergency across the Central Okanagan.
The motion was originally put forth by Central Okanagan west regional director Wayne Carson, who said it was created to help protect the region鈥檚 economy, ecosystem and community from future impacts of global warming.
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During the discussion at an RDCO meeting on Monday, board members decided that more information needed to be collected by district staff before further discussions on the declaration could be made.
Councillor Loyal Wooldridge said during the discussion that more research needs to be done before he could support the motion.
鈥淭his is about coming up with a (climate) plan that鈥檚 made for the region. To declare an emergency without action is like pulling a fire alarm without a fire truck coming,鈥� Wooldridge said.
鈥淚 need to see a little more data on this before I could make a decision.鈥�
During the meeting, councillors also said it wouldn鈥檛 be appropriate to re-use a climate emergency declaration already brought forward and passed by the City of Nanaimo earlier this year.
In the declaration, the motion asked the district to develop a reserve fund to support energy-efficient infrastructure initiatives and implement a regional action plan to help prevent the earth from warming beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius in the years to come.
District of Lake Country mayor James Baker said some of the resolutions set out in the motion were unrealistic.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 see us declaring an emergency to climate action 鈥� we鈥檙e already doing remedial action in our planning,鈥� said Baker.
鈥淵ou can pass a lot of resolutions but as 91大黄鸭 Mayor Colin Basran has said, you can鈥檛 pass those resolutions if you can鈥檛 follow through with them.鈥�
Earlier this year, Basran said 91大黄鸭 would not follow the lead of other cities in declaring a climate emergency.
connor.trembley@kelownacapnews.com
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