Two of the Canadian participants in the EU-Canada Urban Policy Cooperation have received deserved recognition for their actions and accountability within climate action this week. On February 10th, WWF-International announced that World Cities Project members Edmonton (Alberta) and Saanich (British Columbia), in addition to global sustainability leader Vancouver (British Columbia), are the three cities which they have selected as finalists for the 2016 iteration of Canada’s Earth Hour Capital Award.
This is the first time that the District of Saanich has been named as a finalist for the honour, and Mayor Richard Atwell is thrilled that Saanich’s “commitment to leading by example in our operations, and supporting community sustainability programs has helped set a path towards an energy efficient and low-carbon future for our municipality.” For Edmonton and Mayor Don Iveson, this is the third consecutive year as a finalist and with the inspirational climate action underway in Alberta’s capital – such as the newly approved Energy Transition Strategy – it might just be the year that Edmonton represents Canada and contends for the title of Global Earth Hour Capital.
Canada’s Earth Hour Capital will be announced in May, which is also when the Third and final Working Meeting of the EU-Canada Urban Policy Cooperation will occur (19-20 May, 2016). When representatives from Saanich and Edmonton come together with the six other cities participating in the cooperation, some collegial gloating – and a congratulatory beer… or two – may also be in play.