Brantford has joined municipalities across the country and around the world in declaring a climate emergency.

At a meeting this week, city councillors also unanimously agreed to commit, in principle, for Brantford to become net carbon neutral by 2050.

A council chamber packed with supporters of the climate emergency resolution introduced by Coun. Cheryl Antoski broke into applause after the vote. There were so many people there to back the resolution, which was debated for more than three hours, some had to watch the meeting on television in another room at city hall.

Antoski, who worked with staff to create a resolution that includes some action plans, called the support she received heartwarming.

“This is designed to give us good information to make good decisions,” she said. “This isn’t going to be easy. It’s about culture change. We need to make big, bold decisions. How is this anything but right?

The preamble to Antoski’s resolution referenced the signing by 175 countries of the Paris Agreement, and the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change declaration that the only way to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5C is to become net carbon neutral by 2050.

The resolution states that “Canada has disproportionately contributed to the climate and ecological crisis and thus bears an extraordinary responsibility to rapidly solve these crises.” It notes that a national scientific analysis and independent assessment published this year reported Canada’s temperature is rising at twice the global rate and that the rise is due to global emissions of carbon dioxide from human activity.

It says the effects of widespread climate warming are already evident in Canada and are projected to intensify with more frequent and intense droughts, forest fires, rainfall, and other weather extremes.

The resolution acknowledges that it’s impossible to predict the financial costs to the city of becoming carbon neutral by 2050 and “the only immediate and realistic solution is to take action based on the costs we can reasonably forecast and the resources that are available.”

City staff have been directed to develop a carbon reduction strategy in collaboration with the environmental and sustainability policy advisory committee and bring it to council by August.

Part of the strategy will be to create a process to ensure that, by Aug. 1, 2021, every matter that comes before council will include information on the carbon impact of each municipal action and decision.

“We needed a resolution that included some action,” said Antoski. “Staff has come back with a roadmap of what needs to be done.”

Fifteen members of the public, with just one in opposition to the resolution, spoke, often passionately, to councillors.

“If we ignore climate change, there is no future,” said Paven Brar, a member of the eco-club at Pauline Johnson Collegiate, referencing a collection of 11,000 scientists from 153 countries who this year declared a climate emergency. They put forth six “critical and interrelated steps that governments and policy-makers should take into account” in order to reduce the effects of climate change: energy, short-lived pollutants, nature, food, economy and population, he said.

Brar said the city’s actions can include ensuring buildings are energy-efficient, promoting citizens to walk and bike, putting in place wind and solar energy, and banning single-use plastics.

“We all share one common Earth and one common climate,” said city resident Peter Mogk. “What we do in Brantford affects areas around the world.”

Keith Paridy, who teaches sustainability at the Brantford campus of Conestoga College, made reference to this week’s snowstorm and cold weather.

“Those storms are going to become more frequent and intense,” he told councillors.

City resident Marcel Guindon was the lone dissenting voice, referencing what he called “climate-change alarmism.” He questioned how the carbon-reduction plan would be implemented and how it would financially impact residents.

Coun. Greg Martin suggested an amendment to the resolution that would eliminate the need for staff to provide information on the carbon impact of each council decision.

“It’s going to take up a lot of staff time,” he said. “I think it’s overkill and unnecessary.”

But Coun. John Sless cautioned against “cherry picking” that would make the resolution disjointed.

“It’s a roadmap,” he said. “It gives us some guidance.”

Coun. Dan McCreary said he feels the resolution had been “massaged to the point where I think it’s very pragmatic.”

“We’ve got here a process, small things that are going to make a difference.”

Mayor Kevin Davis said it’s easy to feel helpless when some of the largest carbon emitters, including China, continue to build coal-fired power plants.

“Now I’m thinking about the life my grandchildren are going to have and it’s not going to be the same as mine,” said Davis.

“I think we are really going to have an impact. If we as a country can demonstrate to the world that we aspire to be carbon-free, we can be a leader to other countries.”