Meeting the climate change challenge: local government climate action in British Columbia, Canada

In light of the increasing call for climate action, there is a growing body of literature studying the ways in which informal settlements in the Global South are adapting to the impacts of climate change. In these particularly vulnerable communities where the existing infrastructural vulnerabilities faced by residents are exacerbated by the hazards of climate change, multi-level approaches involving more inclusive forms of governance are needed for the implementation of climate action. Drawing from the case of a sanitation upgrading project in the informal settlement of Murray, located in Philippi, Cape Town, this paper adds to current understandings of multi-level rapid climate action in informal settlements by endeavouring to address two gaps in this body of literature. Firstly, this paper demonstrates a link between climate change and sanitation which has received little attention by showing that improving sanitation infrastructure makes communities more resilient to extreme weather events associated with climate change. Secondly, the paper addresses how and by whom rapid climate action can be implemented in complex socio-institutional contexts such as informal settlements where the impacts of climate change are felt particularly strongly. This paper identifies what enabled and constrained climate action in the Murray informal settlement in an attempt to provide lessons for local government from the case of the sanitation upgrading project. Bottom-up initiation of multi-level climate action is dependent on fragile partnerships which require the support and involvement of a skilled and dedicated local government. Nevertheless, co-operative and transparent engagements across levels hold the potential to contribute to transformative adaptation through the establishment of new partnerships and forms of governance which recognise community groups as legitimate stakeholders and acknowledge the importance of lived experiences and mentalities.

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Planning for Climate Action in British Columbia, Canada: Putting Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Mitigation on Local Government Agendas

Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development ◽

10.5304/jafscd.2012.022.008 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 247-259 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Tara Moreau ◽

Jennie Moore ◽

Kent Mullinix

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Local Government ◽

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Greenhouse Gas Mitigation ◽

Climate Action

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Divest New York: The City of New York, C40, Fossil Fuel Divestment, and Climate Litigation

10.31219/osf.io/dgx3m ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Matthew Rimmer

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

New York ◽

Renewable Energy ◽

Local Government ◽

Fossil Fuel ◽

Oil Companies ◽

Climate Action ◽

The City

Refereed Article. Matthew Rimmer, ‘Divest New York: The City of New York, C40, Fossil Fuel Divestment, and Climate Litigation’, (2019) 14 The Newcastle Law Review 51-77. Abstract In a case study of the City of New York, this paper explores and analyses civic, municipal narratives about climate activism, local government, fossil fuel divestment and climate litigation. Part 1 considers the integral part of the City of New York in the establishment and the evolution of the C40 Network. Part 2 focuses upon the fossil fuel divestment decision of the City of New York, and its commitment to reinvestment in respect of renewable energy and climate solutions. Part 3 examines the unsuccessful climate litigation by the City of New York against a number of major oil companies for damage caused by climate change, and the prospects of a future appeal. This paper contends that the City of New York provides an exceptional example for other cities seeking to support climate action.

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The Role of Late-Night Infotainment Comedy in Communicating Climate Change Consensus

10.31234/osf.io/ufg9r ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Edward John Roy Clarke ◽

Anna Klas ◽

Joshua Stevenson ◽

Emily Jane Kothe

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Policy Support ◽

Mitigation Policy ◽

Behavioural Intentions ◽

Late Night ◽

Mitigation And Adaptation ◽

Climate Action ◽

Adaptation Policies ◽

Diverse Audience

Climate change is a politically-polarised issue, with conservatives less likely than liberals to perceive it as human-caused and consequential. Furthermore, they are less likely to support mitigation and adaptation policies needed to reduce its impacts. This study aimed to examine whether John Oliver’s “A Mathematically Representative Climate Change Debate” clip on his program Last Week Tonight polarised or depolarised a politically-diverse audience on climate policy support and behavioural intentions. One hundred and fifty-nine participants, recruited via Amazon MTurk (94 female, 64 male, one gender unspecified, Mage = 51.07, SDage = 16.35), were presented with either John Oliver’s climate change consensus clip, or a humorous video unrelated to climate change. Although the climate change consensus clip did not reduce polarisation (or increase it) relative to a control on mitigation policy support, it resulted in hyperpolarisation on support for adaptation policies and increased climate action intentions among liberals but not conservatives.

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Forest health and climate change: A British Columbia perspective

The Forestry Chronicle ◽

10.5558/tfc86412-4 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 86 (4) ◽

pp. 412-422 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

Alex J. Woods ◽

Don Heppner ◽

Harry H. Kope ◽

Jennifer Burleigh ◽

Lorraine Maclauchlan

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

British Columbia ◽

Mountain Pine Beetle ◽

Forest Health ◽

Forest Insects ◽

Pine Beetle ◽

The World ◽

Dothistroma Needle Blight ◽

Management Recommendations ◽

Needle Blight

BC’s forests have already faced two simultaneous, globally significant, epidemics linked to climate change; the Dothistroma needle blight epidemic in NW BC and the massive mountain pine beetle epidemic throughout the BC Interior. Building on these experiences, we have compiled our best estimates of how we believe other forest health agents may behave as climate change continues to influence our forests. We have drawn on literature from around the world but have focused on the situation in BC. We have made management recommendations based on what we have seen so far and what we expect to come.Key words: climate change, forest health, forest insects, forest pathogens, forest management, British Columbia

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