The threat of climate change is “ridiculously exaggerated” and London shouldn’t participate in a United Nations-linked panel addressing the issue.

That’s the opinion of one city councillor who unexpectedly spoke out Tuesday against London signing on as part of a global group of municipal leaders, the so-called Compact of Mayors.

“I’m very disturbed that the threat of climate change has been ridiculously exaggerated,” Coun. Michael van Holst, in his first term representing east-end Ward 1, said during Tuesday’s debate.

“When we hear these exaggerated concerns, we should just ignore it.”

He suggested the UN has “manipulated a public concern in order to gain power and money.”

Regarding the chance to join the worldwide group, van Holst added: “I would hope our mayor doesn’t feel the need to be involved and propagate these exaggerations.”

None of his council colleagues agreed — in fact, no one said much at all after van Holst’s comments. Council voted to join the group.

The entire discussion revolved around the Compact of Mayors, which is led by Michael Bloomberg, the ex-mayor of New York City who is now the UN special envoy for climate change. London’s opportunity to join was summarized in a staff report.

In it, city staff describe it as “a global coalition of mayors and city officials committed to reducing local greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing resilience to climate change, and publicly tracking their progress.”

Challenging such issues is rare among politicians and van Holst, a University of Waterloo-educated engineer, acknowledged he may get criticized for his remarks.

“I value truth more than popularity,” he told The Free Press after the debate.

Mayor Matt Brown called joining the UN group a wise decision.

“I think it’s a very important step for us to take,” he said. “It signals to other big cities right across Canada that we believe this is an important initiative.”

Patrick.maloney@sunmedia.ca

Twitter.com/patatLFPress