GuelphToday received the following Letter to the Editor from reader, Elizabeth Snell, who expresses the need for a CAO who is 'keen to get Guelph to net zero emissions':
Looking for a very well-paying job? Guelph City Council is searching for a Chief Administration Officer (CAO), the only employer Council hires. The CAO is responsible for all other staff and for ensuring implementation of City operations and Council policies.
It’s a lot to cover. The current CAO, Scott Stewart, retires in July. He has focused on the basics - ensuring smooth operations - a good foundation for the next CAO to advance some neglected policy implementation. Now, as we teeter on the verge of a global energy transformation sparked by the climate crisis, Guelph needs an experienced policy-oriented CAO keen to carry out a key action in Guelph’s Strategic Plan: “Encourage community participation in Race to Zero” (net carbon emissions).
In 2007, Guelph led by developing the first community energy plan of its kind in North America. Hundreds of Canadian municipalities have written plans since, guided by Guelph’s example. But now we’re lagging: many cities have surged past us in implementation.
To be clear, actions within City Hall operations are progressing well toward their emission reduction targets. It’s a commendable example. BUT City operations account for only 3% of Guelph’s total emissions. The updated Community Energy Initiative (CEI 2018) deals with the community’s 97% and urgently needs implementation. The only significant program, Guelph Greener Homes loans, is important but at current rates would take close to a century to reach every house.
In other ways, City Hall has run backwards in the community’s Race to Zero. Recently, the City closed and defunded Our Energy Guelph, the arm’s length organization coordinating the CEI. In a giant backward leap, the Downtown District Energy System was sold for $8 (district energy is a very efficient way of sharing energy. It heats over half of the residential and commercial buildings in Sweden). Meanwhile other cities have staff and task forces charged with community implementation and are zooming down the zero emissions track – forward!
So, Council and next CAO, please get Guelph back in the Race to Zero, as mandated in Guelph’s Strategic Plan. Ensure there is a dedicated CEI office, broad community input and adequate funding over a five-year plan. For a start, $300,000 is available from closing Our Energy Guelph.
As the community works together to implement the CEI - finding efficiencies, sharing energy and generating renewable energy locally - Guelph will also triumph in other races. New jobs will spring up. Guelphites’ health will improve. And we will retain much more of the almost $1 billion per year in energy costs that the community currently sends away.
Win! Win! Win!
Elizabeth Snell,
Guelph, Ont.
