The City of Nelson plans on taking it first step in combating climate change by developing a strategic plan.
According to Nelson City Councilor Rik Logtenberg, the first step is for council to go on a retreat to focus on taking responsibility and adapting to climate change.
He hopes this will send a message the Youth who participated in the Climate Strike on Monday:
“It’s the students and our kids that are going to feel the effects of climate change most strongly and I think it was really important that they heard from us as a follow up to their rally today. That we heard them. That we take it seriously and that we’re ready to act on their behalf.”
However, he feels that its unlikely that the City will declare a state of climate emergency:
“We heard from our fire chief who strongly believes that we need to take action but was concerned that by declaring an emergency, there would be confusion about what the emergency is. Because, say, in the summer when we could have an actual emergency, there could be confusion there.”Â
Logtenberg reiterates that the City is not in a state of climate emergency, noting that he and the fire chief do not want to confuse the public should an immediate emergency arise.