At its December 18 meeting, District of Muskoka Council voted in favour of creating a climate change reserve fund for climate change projects.
Council agreed to transfer $1 million from the environmental reserve fund to establish the new climate reserve.
The specifics of how future contributions to the fund will be financed and how reserve funds will be used for initiatives like the New Leaf Climate Action Plan and Muskoka greenhouse gas reduction initiatives will be decided at a later date.
The fund was proposed by Councillors Peter Koetsier and Peter Johnston who stated that the District must take greater action in support of climate initiatives.
“This current District of Muskoka government is regularly undertaking very meaningful actions such as those with housing… but on climate change, we need to visibly accelerate our efforts. Our residents are watching and are demanding that we do more,” Johnston said.
Johnston spoke of the importance of the local environment to the character and economy of the Muskoka region. He added that the District must act to prevent environmental degradation.
“Muskoka is known around the world and its primary asset is its pristine environment. That’s why people come to Muskoka year after year. If we let the environment continue to slowly degrade, there will literally be no Muskoka,” Johnston argued.
Again, the funds used for the new climate fund would be taken from the environmental reserve fund. This fund currently has $16 million in it but most of the funds are currently committed to environmental projects. Overall, staff supported the motion indicating that there is enough flexibility in present reserve fund commitments to allow the transfer.
Koetsier spoke about the need for more grants and projects to increase resiliency and decrease greenhouse gas emissions. Koetsier stated that members of District council should consider young people when deciding future climate plans.
“We are of an age that we don’t quite get it. And I think we have to listen to our children and our grandchildren. These are people who are scared,” Koetsier said.
The open structure of the proposal led to debate about how potential funds would be spent. Councillor Guy Burry stated that more focus should be given to how climate reserve funds will be deployed. He added that the District was decades behind other municipalities in collecting, let alone deploying, climate action funds.
“We’re well and truly behind many of the municipalities in Canada,” Burry said.
On the topic of future financing for a climate reserve fund, Koetsier stated that future funding may come directly from taxpayers. “And I believe, based on surveys done, that most of our residents recognize that they should be putting a bit of money into addressing the climate crisis,” Koetsier said.
District council voted unanimously in favour of creating the reserve. You can find more details about Muskoka’s climate action plan, HERE.
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