Letter to Regional Districts re: Climate Change Emergency Declaration

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200-1627 Fort Street, Victoria BC  V8R 1H8 
Telephone  (250) 405-5151    Fax  (250) 405-5155 
Toll Free via Enquiry BC in Vancouver 660-2421.  Elsewhere in BC 1.800.663.7867 
Email  information@islandstrust.bc.ca 
Web  www.islandstrust.bc.ca 
 
 
Bowen  Denman  Hornby  Gabriola Galiano  Gambier  Lasqueti  Mayne  North Pender  Salt Spring  Saturna  South Pender  Thetis 
 
May 30, 2019         File Number: 6000-30 
 
Via Email: 
Capital Regional District 
PO Box 1000 
Victoria, BC  V8W 2S6 
Comox Valley Regional District 
600 Comox Road 
Courtney, BC  V9N 3P6 
Cowichan Valley Regional District 
175 Ingram Street 
Duncan, BC  V9L 1N8 
Metro Vancouver Regional District 
4330 Kingsway 
Burnaby, BC  V5H 4G8 
Regional District Nanaimo 
6300 Hammond Bay Road 
Nanaimo, BC  V9T 6N2 
qathet Regional District 
5776 Marine Avenue 
Powell River, BC  V8A 2M4  
Sunshine Coast Regional District 
1975 Field Road 
Sechelt, BC  V0N 3A1 
 
 
Dear Board of Directors: 
 
Re: Climate Change Emergency Declaration 
 
On March 13, 2019, the Islands Trust Council declared a climate emergency. The declaration is rooted in 
deep concern for future of the islands and waters of the Salish Sea. Trust Council has requested that I 
write to regional districts in the Islands Trust Area asserting Trust Council’s full support for regional 
district declarations of a climate emergency. I commend the Capital Regional District Board for declaring 
a climate emergency on February 13, 2019. Many local governments around the world are taking this 
step as we all realize the costs and impacts of climate change within our communities.   
 
In 2018 the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found that limiting 
global warming to 1.5°C is possible but will require rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all 
aspects of society. 
 
The impacts of climate change are being felt everywhere. For the islands in the Salish Sea, those impacts 
can be seen through more extreme and unpredictable weather patterns, sea level rise, increasingly 
acidic oceans, and drier summers characterized by smoke-filled air due to forest-fires in nearby 
jurisdictions, among many other impacts. 
 
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Climate Change Emergency Declaration 
May 30, 2019 
Page 2 
 
 
We are committed to intensifying our efforts to better match the urgency of the climate change 
emergency identified by the world’s leading scientists. We will seek to work with local communities, 
First Nations, partner agencies, and other levels of government to pursue an absolute reduction in 
greenhouse gas emissions in this very special region.  
 
I hope that you will stand with us. Together we can play a leading role in protecting our natural 
environment and future generations from the devastating impacts of climate change. 
 
The Islands Trust Council is a federation of local government bodies representing 26,000 people living 
within the Islands Trust Area and about 10,000 non-resident property owners. The

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