As trial balloons go, Sheila Clarke is happy with the first one.
Clarke helped to organize a series of climate conversations between the Climate Momentum group and various stakeholders involved with climate and environment decisions. The first of these conversations, aimed at taking a closer look at Stratford’s climate change action plan (CCAP), was held last week and Clarke was pleased with the outcome of the initial event.
“The first conversation had two goals – an opportunity for the city’s climate program manager to share information about previous climate steps in Stratford, and to share the recently passed CCAP with the community, and also to move from interaction on a screen to having a face-to-face conversation among community members who are concerned about climate change,” she said. “So much more happens in sitting down and talking with other people. We hope that’s a beginning for engaging with steps the city will take with the CCAP, and also those conversations may lead to taking action to reduce emissions as individuals or neighbourhoods.”
Clarke called all of the contributions made during the discussions valuable, crediting the concern and interesting insights people were sharing for helping to prove their point that conversations like these are necessary.
“It was great to hear individual action ideas as well as big picture concepts,” she said. “The impact of transportation on emissions was a surprise to many, so the next event where we look at that very concern should give rise to some interesting conversations.”
Sadaf Ghalib, Stratford’s climate change program manager, said it was a significant step to be able to share the CCAP in full with the public in a setting like this, pointing out that the document will help guide them in several key areas as they move forward to meet climate change challenges.
“It serves as our roadmap for our energy and emissions pathway, outlining specific initiatives and actions aimed at reducing our carbon footprint,” she said. “My primary goal during the presentation was to highlight some of the impactful efforts taking place around the world, and to stress that cities like ours need to tailor their approaches to local contexts and priorities. I believe the audience left with a clearer understanding of these concepts, enabling them to engage in informed discussions with their peers.”
Ghalib welcomed the additional public input into the CCAP during the meeting but made sure to point out that considerable input was received during the drafting of the document. She said that any input gained last week would be kept in mind, but the next step will be to get the ball rolling.
“At this stage, it’s crucial to focus on the implementation of the outlined actions that address our emissions trajectory,” she said. “Achieving our energy and emissions goals requires a collective effort between the municipality and the community, so fostering strong relationships with community members is essential, as is long-term collaboration. Encouraging ownership of the identified initiatives and promoting active participation will help drive meaningful progress, which we anticipate tracking in the future. By working together and nurturing public-private partnerships, we can move the needle towards our climate objectives.”
Clarke said the steering committee for Climate Momentum will always be looking for ways to improve the opportunities for conversations like this, and expressed their gratitude for the city’s support. As far as moving the needle on climate change and local action towards it?
“That’s an unknown,” she said. “I”d like to think it has from the enthusiastic conversations and shared concerns and ideas, but this was only a beginning. It was wonderful to hear sharing of individual steps, and we’ll see if conversations within neighbourhoods and among the larger community will help to move the needle forward. One thing I overheard which resonated with me is, ‘the challenge isn’t creating conversations amongst the converted, but broadening them to include the skeptical …’.”
The next Climate Conversation – focusing on transportation – is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 24, at the city hall auditorium starting at 7 p.m.
