New League Reduces CO2 Emissions by Measuring What Matters
The National Climate League sparks competition among Canadian communities to boost quality of life while cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Montréal, Canada (August 14, 2018) — The National Climate League (NCL) launches today to measure what matters to citizens across Canadian municipalities. Which major metropolitan centre leads on air quality? Which suburbs enjoy the best public transit service? Which towns have set themselves apart on waste management and green jobs?
In a race to improve health, economic and environmental outcomes, volunteer teams under the banner of the Community Climate Hub initiative push for transparency on fifteen indicators in each of the twenty participating municipalities. The launch of the inaugural season features passionate city-builder and former President and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd, Richard Peddie, and will be broadcast live at 8PM Eastern from ClimateHub.ca.
“It’s time Canadians had access to this information. The National Climate League empowers citizens to track important indicators of municipal success that will improve lives while reducing global warming pollution,” claims Audrey Dépault, National Manager of the League’s founding organization, The Climate Reality Project Canada. “More importantly, it’s done in a way that’s fun for everyone to see who’s leading, who’s lagging, and what we can learn from each other.”
The standings will focus on twenty communities where Community Climate Hubs are established - from Victoria to Halifax, Saskatoon to Saugeen Shores - but residents of any Canadian municipality are invited to participate by asking their councillors to submit data at ClimateHub.ca. All data collected will be made public in the NCL Open Database.
Preliminary Standings are now available and demonstrate the scale of the task ahead for the Hubs and their members: ask city officials to submit the fifteen data points by October 31 for inclusion in the NCL Open Database and the final 2018 NCL Standings.
Following twelve months of consultation on the indicators with dozens of organizations from the Canadian Federation of Municipalities to public health authorities and the Canadian Urban Transit Association, the first season concludes in December with the launch of the 2018 NCL Standings.
“We received invaluable feedback, not the least of which from interactions with global leaders during the ICLEI World Congress and at the CitiesIPCC conference,” said Climate Reality’s National Campaign Coordinator, Matthew Chapman. “There’s a growing understanding that we need all stakeholders participating along the policy-making process, from measuring the impacts they care about, to implementing solutions to improve outcomes.”
About The Climate Reality Project Canada
The organization is the Canadian branch of a non-profit organization dedicated to mobilizing action around the issue of climate change. So far, the movement’s Founder, former US Vice President and Nobel Laureate Al Gore, has trained over 14,000 Climate Reality Leaders around the world, whose role is to promote education and action with regards to the climate crisis.
For more information about the National Climate League, visit www.climatehub.ca or follow us on Twitter at @Reality_Canada and Facebook.
For media inquiries in English or French:
Audrey Dépault, National Manager, Climate Reality Project Canada
adepault@climatereality.ca
T: 514-871-8845