As we jump into a new year, we wanted to take a moment to share a few highlights of Centre for Ecocities activities throughout 2024.
Reports and Tools
- In February, Ryan Mackie, Centre for Ecocities Technical Lead, released a report and held a webinar that shares how current greenhouse gas emissions targets and carbon budgeting stand up to the latest climate science, and highlights the importance of a consumption-based approach. Since its release, additional webinars have been given to local, regional, and provincial government staff in BC and the report has been distributed to relevant national and international organizations.
- With the support of OneEarth Living and the Real Estate Foundation of BC, we developed a fun quiz about climate actions for individuals – in time for Earth Day (April 22). Test your knowledge and find out some of the best ways to reduce your personal carbon and ecological footprint.
- The UN-Habitat’s SDG Cities Canada Report 2024, with Dr. Jennie Moore as lead author, was published in June. This is the first national report tracking the progress of Canadian cities in implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- The findings of the SDG Cities Canada Report were later presented by Dr. Jennie Moore at the World Urban Forum 12 (WUF12) in Cairo, Egypt.
- The Centre for Ecocities collaborated with C40 Cities, OneEarth Living, and Hot or Cool Institute on a guide to equip global cities to take climate action using a consumption lens. The guide, with interactive resources, will launch in 2025.
- We also drafted a BC-focused guide outlining opportunities for local governments in British Columbia to accelerate and deepen climate leadership through consumption-based solutions using a ‘Shrink, Share, and Regenerate’ framework. This initiative also includes archetype-based estimates of CBEIs and Ecological Footprint assessments for communities across BC to bridge the gap many have in creating their own localized assessments. All of this work was supported by the Real Estate Foundation of BC and will be launched in 2025.
Curriculum
We developed two new microcredentials with funding from Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery (C2R2):
- Climate Changemakers Leadership Training enables people with a passion and interest in sustainability and climate action to prepare themselves for careers that positively impact people and the planet. This micocredential is offered through BCIT’s School of Construction and Environment and is comprised of four badged courses.
- Greenhouse Gas (GHG) and Ecological Footprint Analysis will provide additional skills training to help achieve CleanBC, the Province’s climate plan. This badged course will launch in 2025.
Presentations and Webinars
- Cora Hallsworth, Municipal Programs Manager, joined Jamie Clarke of Engaging Climate and Dr. Vanessa Timmer of OneEarth Living to present a webinar on dealing with pushback to local climate action. This session was for elected representatives and organized by Climate Caucus, a Canadian non-partisan network of 700 current and former local elected leaders and over 1400 allies, leading the transformation needed for communities to thrive within planetary boundaries.
- In April, the Centre for Ecocities came together with BCIT’s School of Energy, International office, and Applied Research department to host Professor Vicente Carabias of the ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences as well as Olaf Kjelsen, Ambassador of Switzerland in Canada, Thomas Schneider, Consul General of Switzerland, and educator Carine Kjelsen. The delegation was given an in-depth tour of BCIT’s sustainability and advanced technology initiatives and Professor Carabias then gave an engaging guest lecture on the Transformation to Smart Cities: Swiss Guide and Use Cases.
- In October, Dr. Jennie Moore presented to a convening of the International Ecocity Footprint Learning Lab (IEFLL) on the urban ecological footprint methodology she pioneered through her BCIT supported PhD studies at the University of British Columbia. The IEFLL is a seven-year project is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) in partnership with York University, University of Iceland, and the Global Footprint Network. The goal is to improve methodologies, knowledge, and student training in ecological footprinting.
- Jennie Moore and part-time BCIT instructor Elisabeth Baudinaud from Carbon Wise presented on the methods for assessing embodied energy in buildings to the Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) Technical Working Group on Scope 3 Greenhouse Gas Emissions. BCIT’s related microcredentials were also noted in the presentation.
- In November, Ryan Mackie joined the BCIT Library’s Food for Thought series and presented on how current greenhouse gas emissions targets, and our progress on the transition to net zero, stand up to the latest climate science.
- Also in November, Jennie Moore did a Global TV Morning Show interview for their “Shaping BC” segment. The topic was Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions.
Throughout the year, we engaged with colleagues in the Climate Action Secretariat and municipalities across BC to learn from one another about effective policy approaches to climate action in the province and how we can best align our work in the coming years.
We also again shared Centre for Ecocities knowledge with BCIT students, faculty, and staff at events and in classrooms. We look forward to continuing to build BCIT’s expertise in ecocities and sustainability metrics.
Onward to 2025!