Burlington still backing climate office despite loss of provincial funds
BURLINGTON — Despite learning last month that the Bay Area Climate Change Office has lost a major provincial funding source, the City of Burlington says it remains committed to the organization working to reduce local carbon emissions.
“Burlington’s commitment to the partnership remains the same as when we started,” said Lynn Robichaud, senior sustainability co-ordinator for Burlington’s capital works department. “We will provide an updated report to the new city council sometime early in 2019.”
The Bay Area Climate Change Office (BACCO) was launched in December as part of Mohawk College’s Centre for Climate Change Management. The centre’s funding partners included the college, the cities of Hamilton and Burlington, and the province, which committed $1.2 million from its cap-and-trade program, which forced companies to purchase credits to offset their pollution, funneling the money into environmental initiatives. Newly elected Premier Doug Ford announced plans to cancel cap-and-trade in early July.
The centre still doesn’t know exactly how much of the $1.2 million won’t be arriving, says executive director Sandi Stride.
“We still do not have a final status on the funding from the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks,” she said. “However, we are estimating that we will be losing about 50 per cent of the promised support, or approximately $600,000.”
It’s also unclear who will step up to provide the funding, which was largely designated for staff salaries, including Stride’s and some project co-ordinators.
“The good news is, we have three partners who are really committed,” she said. “So much momentum has been generated, I want to assure the public that we are going forward.”
Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger has expressed his continued support, and Mohawk spokesperson Jay Robb says the college remains a committed partner as well.
The next step is to create a council of 14 key stakeholders, both individuals and organizations.