Green Communities in British Columbia: A Collaborative Effort
City of Victoria hosts 2011 FCM Sustainable Communities Conference
For the first time, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) has held its Sustainabile Communities Conference outside the Ottawa region. Hosted by the City of Victoria in February, the theme for the 2011 event is Embracing Change for Sustainability: Innovative governance, partnerships and financing.
Embracing Change for Sustainability:Green Communities Initiative
The conference included a plenary session titled Green Communities in BC: A Collaborative Effort. Speakers included representatives of the Province of British Columbia and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities.
“The Province of British Columbia and B.C. local governments are committed to working together toward a vision of green, sustainable communities. Green communities are vibrant, connected, innovative, environmentally sustainable, economically viable and socially responsive,” stated Stephanie Cadieux, BC Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development.
“The B.C. approach to achieving this vision involves all partners working together to help remove barriers, provide incentives, build capacity and ensure the right mix of regulation and legislation. The province has set aggressive targets to reduce provincial GHGs and is investing in a range of climate action, energy and housing-related initiatives to support broader sustainability outcomes in BC.”
“Further, under the B.C. Climate Action Charter, the province, the Union of British Columbia Municipalities, and local governments have made a commitment to reduce GHG emissions and support the development of complete, compact and energy efficient communities.”
To Learn More:
The Green Communities Initiative encompasses a number of plans and strategies that complement and/or support Living Water Smart, BC’s Water Plan. Conceptually, the Green Communities Initiative comprises four areas of activity as shown below:
