The Association of Whistler Area Residents for the Environment (AWARE), My Sea To Sky and many other community groups are currently working with West Coast Environmental Law (WCEL) on a Climate Accountability campaign, to hold the world’s fossil fuel polluters accountable for their role in causing climate harm to our communities. By doing so the hope is to:

• ensure that taxpayers are not the only ones on the hook for the ever-rising costs of preparing for (and recovering from) the impacts of climate change;
• impact the global fossil fuel companies that are contributing most to climate change, and their investors, giving them an incentive to move towards a more sustainable economy; and
• generate a conversation about the role of the fossil fuel industry in harming the health and economies of our communities and shift support to alternative restorative solutions.

Communities across British Columbia are committing to hold fossil fuel polluters accountable by sending climate accountability letters to twenty of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies, asking them to pay their fair share for climate costs that are being incurred by each community.

We wanted to ensure Mayor and Council were apprised of the efforts underway, especially as the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC) has forwarded a resolution on Climate Accountability to be considered at the upcoming Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM), for which Whistler is the host community. We believe this was an opportunity for climate advocacy as called for in the implementation approach in the Community Energy and Climate Action Plan.

AWARE and My Sea To Sky provided information regarding the Climate Accountability campaign, as well as steps being taken by other communities, to Council and on September 4th council voted to request staff issue climate accountability letters. Many on council also highlighted they would be supporting the resolution on Climate Accountability at UBCM.

Read the full submission to Council here:  Whistler Climate Accountability Letter To Council

This move comes after council recently supported a motion to receive quarterly updates on actions undertaken to mitigate and adapt to climate change, after a report from municipal staff made it clear the community was off track and would not achieve many of it’s 2020 climate related targets.