On Wednesday June 12th, 2024, People’s Official Plan hosted a wonderful virtual dialogue to provide Ottawa residents with resources and support to SPEAK UP for accelerated climate action in the city.
Remarkably, research shows that 71% of Canadians are concerned about climate change, but only about 20% are actually speaking up. This situation can give City Councillors the false impression that most people do not want accelerated climate action.
Last year, in 2023, when City staff announced that it was substantially off-track from achieving its goals established in the Climate Change Master Plan (CCMP), the tone of the meeting was business as usual. Furthermore, climate misinformation is getting more attention, and it causes doubt, uncertainty and delay.
The POP virtual dialogue on June 12th began with a land acknowledgement and opening remarks by CAFES Executive Director Angela Keller-Herzog. The dialogue proceeded to have a series of presentations and resources on Ottawa’s Climate Change Master Plan, tools for addressing climate misinformation, and steps for taking action. These resources were presented by William Van Geest from Ecology Ottawa, and Colleen Rollins and Sarah MacHardy from the CAFES Climate Misinformation Project. The dialogue then dove into a rich community discussion facilitated by breakout groups on how we can all create a personal plan of action.
Thank you to all who attended this meaningful dialogue. Let’s all do our part to make sure City Council knows they have our support to drive forward accelerated climate action in Ottawa!
