By Craig Westcott/August 12, 2021
Mount Pearl's fight against climate change got a boost Tuesday thanks to an infusion of $116,200 from Ottawa and $96,800 from the province to remove the furnace from the city's public works depot and refurbish the building with heat pumps and solar panels.
The money, which was announced by federal cabinet minister and St. John's South - Mount Pearl MP Seamus O'Regan and provincial Environment Minister Bernard Davis at a press conference held outside the Neil H. Windsor Building, the official name of the city's depot, will also cover upgrades to some City vehicles with technology to improve their efficiency.
The changes will save the City more than $30,000 a year in fuel and other costs, which Mayor Dave Aker said will be reinvested by council in other projects to reduce the City's impact on the climate.
O'Regan said climate change is Canada's next big challenge that we all have to confront together.
"This is about our plan to combat it," he said of the funding. "This is about local solutions and projects happening right here in our province and right here in the City of Mount Pearl, because climate change is one of those things that we keep measuring globally, but it is really felt locally. Our climate is changing around us. It is forcing us to change and adapt with it. It is no longer a question. And so we can stick our heads in the sand and say nothing and do nothing and say it's not our problem, like others may want to, or we can meet the moment just like we did with Covid. We can do the hard work and we can invest in the measures that are going to get us to our climate goals. And we choose the latter, because frankly there is no other option... And we are running out of time."
O'Regan said small changes add up and make a real difference in the fight against global warming.
Altogether, O'Regan added, Ottawa committed on Tuesday to spending a total of $4.8 million on 13 different climate change projects in this province.
Davis agreed with O'Regan that every action counts.
"Awareness and education around climate change has grown dramatically," said Davis. "Climate change has grown from a silo of science to something very real and tangible for all of us. We can all relate to changing weather patterns, warming temperatures and flooding events and we all understand now fully that it's all connected to climate change."
Davis said the province is spending some $3.3 million on climate change projects in 12 communities from Cape Broyle to Port aux Basques. The projects will lower emissions, improve fuel efficiency and help those communities save on energy costs.
Mayor Aker thanked the City's senior staff for taking a close look at the depot's operations and the efficiency of the City's fleet. "We're very happy to target this area as the first part of our operation to go a little bit greener," he said. "Mount Pearl is committed to being a leader in addressing the environmental issues."
Aker said municipalities generate roughly half of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions. "So, it's all about working together in our city, working with the federal government and the provincial government, business partners and our staff to ensure not only that we recognize that climate change is real, but that we stop talking about it and start walking the walk."
Aker said the City completed an inventory of its greenhouse gas emissions back in 2019. "We've created our own climate change action plan and we've come up with a suite of strategically prioritized projects that are reducing the City's greenhouse gas emisssions in our buildings, our fleet and through water and wastewater,” he said. “By 2025 our target is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in buildings by 17 per cent… in the fleet a 10 per cent reduction compared to a base line that we established back in 2018, and in water and wastewater a five per cent reduction as compared to 2018. These targets are real, we're committed to it and I want to thank the federal and provincial governments for stepping up with the City of Mount Pearl to make this happen. This is an action plan. It's no longer just talking about it."
Aker said the City will go to tender shortly on the refurbishment of the depot's heating system. He noted the change will decrease the building’s emissions by 12.4 tonnes annually. "That's a reduction of 80 per cent," he said. "And we have other initiatives too. We've got five hybrid and electric vehicles purchased now for the City, reducing our gas consumption. Even in water and wastewater I know that we are recycling oil now with some of our larger fleet items. And that reduces greenhouse gas emissions at the same time. So, we have a plan, a plan that is going to evolve, maybe a plan that requires a bit more urgency... I'm looking forward to the day when we have an electric loader going around the City of Mount pearl plowing the snow. That's our goal in the long run. And while these investments may appear large to our taxpayers, we're committed to keeping taxes low and providing value."
