Open letter asks Kamloops council not to change direction on climate funding

We are calling upon Kamloops City Council to stay the course on our award-winning Climate Action Levy.

Council is to decide whether or not to retain the funding increase as planned, reduce the funding increase by half for 2024, or forgo the 2024 increase entirely. The purpose of the levy, approved in 2022, was to facilitate longer-term planning by locking in a predictable funding formula.

The City received an award for the Community Climate Action Plan, and the funding mechanism in particular. As then-Mayor Christian pointed out at the time, “It’s all well and good to have the plan, but unless you have a way to fund the plan, not much is going to get done. So the climate action levy was again recognized as best practice.”

As Council makes tough choices, we encourage them to factor in the long-term costs of their budget decisions.

With respect to the return on investment, funding climate action is the most fiscally responsible expenditure that Council can make. In fact, from a numbers standpoint, there are good arguments for increasing the levy to the 0.5% annual increase that was originally proposed.

The 0.35% climate action levy amounts to an additional $8.75 for the average household in Kamloops. Modelling from the Canadian Climate Institute shows that for every $1 invested, governments can save between $13 and $15 in future damages. Since climate change is a time-sensitive issue, that impressive return on investment will be reduced if the investment is delayed. Either we pay now, or we’ll be paying much more later.

In addition to reducing future damages, spending on climate action spurs a host of desirable co-benefits: enhanced livability, improved public health, reduced air pollution, increased carbon sequestration, ecosystem preservation, economic innovation, improved water quality and enhanced resilience to future extreme weather events.

Since climate impacts disproportionately affect our most vulnerable citizens and those with the greatest economic challenges, these investments reduce inequity in our community. In particular, active transportation infrastructure and improved transit enables folks to get around more easily regardless of their age, level of mobility, or economic status.

The City’s consultations show time and again that residents want climate action to be a top priority. We call on Council to reaffirm the City’s commitment to timely climate action by sticking to the plan on the Climate Action Levy.

Nancy Flood, president of the Kamloops Naturalist Club, says the Thompson region’s vulnerability to wildfire, flooding and freeze-thaw cycles should be reason for the city not to back off climate action investment.

Elsewhere, Gisela Ruckert, an organizer with Transition Kamloops, says they didn’t expect there would be appetite for council to revisit the City’s climate funding.

“We’ve had only a day or so to do anything about it, and we are amazed at the response we’ve seen to our invitation to sign the open letter. Clearly, this news hit a nerve,” Ruckert states. “We need both a fluid funding source for the short-term (for secure bike parking, climate action grants, municipal incentives and rebates for home energy efficiency retrofits, EV readiness, etc.), and the larger, reliable funding to plan major projects like improving the community’s active transportation network and decarbonizing civic facilities.”

The 200 plus signatures include Physicians for a Healthy Environment, Kamloops Moms for Clean Air, the Youth of Kamloops Climate Action Network, the Kamloops Cycling Coalition, the Kamloops Bike Riders Association and the TRU Geography Society.

Along with the climate action funding options, Kamloops council will look over eight supplementary budget requests for 2024.

by Aaron Schulze

Open letter asks Kamloops council not to change direction on climate funding

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