CEMA chief says Calgary already planning for climate change

Calling for a climate emergency in Calgary is not necessary, according to the head of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA).

CEMA chief Tom Sampson said the city is already doing a number of things to deal with the effects of climate change.

“We were concerned about the climate before being concerned about the climate was cool,” Sampson told the emergency management committee Wednesday.

Sampson was presenting a report on a detailed risk analysis and information related to the security risks in Calgary when he was asked about the push to declare a climate emergency in the city.

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“I see the climate change occurring and I see people calling climate emergencies,” Sampson said. “My question is — and I posed this to the Conference Board of Canada — what are people doing that’s different when they call it, that we aren’t already doing?”

“If you call it an emergency, you should do something in an emergent way about it and you should be very clear about what your actions are.”

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Sampson said the City of Calgary has an aggressive climate plan and has had one for years, noting the city is always looking at ways of mitigating and preventing the risks from natural disasters.

The CEMA chief said climate has been identified as eight of the top risks in the city’s disaster risk assessment.