Kitchener mayor Berry Vrbanovic is one of about a thousand mayors from around the world that have gathered in Paris to discuss the role cities have in impacting climate change.
“We did not come to Paris to make history, we came to shape the future,” said former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is co-hosting the event with the mayor of Paris.
The event has mayors sharing ideas and experiences on how they are fighting climate change through things like transit, diverting waste and affordable housing, all decisions that are made on a local level.
From Canada, mayors from Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal are attending the meetings. Vrbanovic is representing the United Cities and Local Governments Organization, and he's a part of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, a group that represents all local governments in Canada.
“Anywhere between 45 and 70 per cent of greenhouse gasses are actually generated in our cities across the world, and municipalities have direct control in terms of the policies and by laws that we make,” Vrbanovic said.
Vrbanovic says the Paris climate deal with have impact locally, especially as the provincial government explores the idea of a carbon tax.
In 2013 Waterloo Region committed to reduce the level of emissions recorded in 2010 by six per cent by 2020. Vrbanovic says this number may have to be re-evaluated in the future.
“This is an issue that we need to deal with if we care about the impact on future generations,” he said.
Vrbanovic will be returning to Canada Sunday and is expected at the Kitchener city council meeting Monday night.
