Bowen Island Municipality Website

The Bowen Island Municipality has endorsed the BC Climate Action Charter, at a special council meeting September 17. Council resolved that the mayor should sign the charter on behalf of the community following a request from the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM). The document sets out a joint local-provincial commitment to climate change and greenhouse gas reduction.

Bowen Island was one of 62 local governments from across BC that signed the charter, committing to a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2012. Premier Gordon Campbell joined with UBCM president, Brenda Binnie in signing a memorandum of understanding at the union's convention in late September.

“Our government is committed to taking action on climate change and, by working in partnership with local governments, we will be more effective in reducing our greenhouse gas emissions,” Premier Gordon Campbell said.

In addition to a goal of becoming carbon within five years, local governments signing the charter agree to measure and report on their community’s greenhouse gas emissions profile and work to create compact, more energy efficient communities.

Governments achieve carbon neutrality by reducing emissions where possible, by purchasing carbon offsets to compensate for its greenhouse gas emissions or by developing projects to offset emissions. Such projects may include converting to energy efficient buildings and replacing old fleet vehicles and buses with hybrids.

UBCM and the provincial government will establish a Joint Provincial-UBCM Green Communities committee and Green Communities Working Groups to define a range of actions that can affect climate change, build local government capacity to plan and implement climate change initiatives, support local governments in taking actions to make their own operations carbon neutral by 2012, and share information to support climate change activities.

Bowen signs onto the Climate Action Charter