The voluntary statement acknowledges the need for action on climate change, outlines commitments to establish a baseline measurement for the group or citizen's contribution to climate change, and contains an agreement to report to the community annually on emissions and reductions.
The charter, which was modelled after a similar pledge crafted in Cambridge and Leeds, U.K., will be introduced to the public Monday morning at Liuna Station. The breakfast event is also part of Hamilton's Climate Change Action month.
More than 20 parties, including McMaster University, Mohawk College and Union Gas, have already signed the charter, which was endorsed by councillors last week.
“It's engaging the Hamilton organizations, businesses and individuals to take action and leadership on climate change," the city's air quality and climate change co-ordinator Brian Montgomery said. “It's a voluntary document, not a legal document. The actions are prescriptive. We're not going to come chasing after you and say: ‘Why aren't you doing this?'"
The statement is available online, and follows earlier climate change efforts such as the city's greenhouse gas inventory and a subsequent commitment to reduce its emission levels by 10 per cent in 2012 and 20 per cent by 2020 from where they stood in 2005. Read the full report here.
Source: Danielle Wong, The Spec.
