Burnaby residents will hold a rally outside Burnaby City Hall on Monday, calling on the mayor and councillors to endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Council is set to vote on motion involving the treaty at its Monday regular meeting. The rally will start at 3:30 p.m. and the public is invited to drop by and take part. In Decmeber 2021, New Westminster officially endorsed the treaty.
Organizers of Monday’s rally said statistics show that 595 people in B.C. died in this summer’s heat-dome event, where temperatures reached a 49.6 Celsius.
Maureen Curran said the biggest uphill battle right now is convincing Canada to take real action on producing and using fossil fuels.
“We know here in B.C. that things have been absolutely tragic the last few months, and this is happening all around the world; it’s not just here. We really cannot afford to stay on this path,” she said. “The good part is that there are other options. We know that people like you have already started to make those changes, and that if we work together, we can do better.”
According to Curran, a treaty is required to ensure Canada and other countries commit to make changes regarding fossil fuels.
“We need something that is going to be binding,” she explained. “The emissions targets they have been setting have all been voluntary and they keep not meeting them.”
The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty includes three components: immediately banning expansions or new fossil fuel projects; sensibly and fairly phasing out existing fossil fuel production; and providing a just transition that protects workers and communities.
- With additional reporting by Theresa McManus
