What the declaration directed
The declaration was not just a statement. It came with a list of directives to City staff, and Council strengthened them five weeks later with a follow-up motion that added accountability and measurement. Together these are what the city actually committed to do — quoted verbatim from the carried motions in the council minutes.
The City of Calgary’s own Climate Projections for Calgary (January 2024) documents the physical climate change the declaration was made against — projected warmer temperatures, more intense rainfall, and longer drought windows by the 2050s and 2080s. See the hazards page for the projected physical climate Calgary is preparing for.
The declaration
Sponsors: Mayor Gondek · Cllr. Carra · Cllr. Dhaliwal · Cllr. Mian · Cllr. Penner · Cllr. Spencer · Cllr. Walcott
- Declare a climate emergency
Council formally declares that Calgary is in a climate emergency.
Nov 15, 2021— read the carried motion
That The City of Calgary declares a climate emergency;
EC2021-1525 - Join global city climate networks
Sign Calgary on to international city-climate networks (Global Covenant of Mayors, Resilient Cities Network, Race to Zero) and adopt their practices.
Nov 15, 2021— read the carried motion
That The City of Calgary will become part of the global community (not-for-profit, public and private sectors) taking action on climate change through international initiatives such as the Global Covenant of Mayors, Resilient Cities Network, and Race to Zero, by adopting best practice and leveraging capital investment with the goal of becoming a global center of excellence in climate adaptation and mitigation, and energy transformation;
EC2021-1525 - Make climate a strategic priority and adopt net zero by 2050
Treat climate as a strategic priority, accelerate emissions cuts, and adopt a net-zero-by-2050 target consistent with limiting warming to 1.5 °C.
Nov 15, 2021— read the carried motion
That The City of Calgary makes climate change a strategic priority by accelerating the timelines for climate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, updating the city-wide and corporate greenhouse gas reduction target to be net zero emissions by 2050 to help limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius;
EC2021-1525Floor amendmentCouncil added “to help limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius” during debate — Aligns the net-zero-by-2050 target with the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C pathway. The original NOM did not include this qualifier. - Engage First Nations through the Indigenous Relations Office
Work with First Nations through the Indigenous Relations Office to integrate traditional knowledge into the city's climate strategy.
Nov 15, 2021— read the carried motion
That The City of Calgary engage with First Nations, through the Indigenous Relations Office, to foster relations, ensure collaboration, integration of traditional knowledge and ensure intersectional Climate Change strategies;
EC2021-1525 - Build emissions and risk priorities into business plans and budgets
Have every department's strategic plan and budget identify and invest in high-priority emissions cuts, climate-risk reductions, and a carbon budget.
Nov 15, 2021— read the carried motion
That The City of Calgary develop strategic business plans and budgets across all departments that identify, invest in and accelerate ideas such as high priority emissions reduction, climate risk reduction opportunities, and implementation of a carbon budget;
EC2021-1525 - Update civic-partner agreements to align with emissions targets
Rewrite the city's agreements with civic partners and subsidiaries so they support Calgary's emissions targets.
Nov 15, 2021— read the carried motion
That Council direct that The City of Calgary to update agreements with civic partners and subsidiaries to support and ensure alignment with Calgary's emissions reductions targets; and
EC2021-1525 - Advocate to other governments for climate funding
Advocate to the federal and provincial governments for funding to cut emissions, reduce climate risk, deliver Bow River flood and drought mitigation, and build community resilience.
Nov 15, 2021— read the carried motion
That The City of Calgary will advocate for funding from all orders of government for the purposes of accelerating immediate and near-term actions to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce climate risk to public built and natural infrastructure, deliver upstream flood and drought mitigation on the Bow River, build community resilience, seek disaster risk reduction from climate change and support strategic opportunities for Calgary's economy.
EC2021-1525
Accountability addendum
- Build a measurement framework and report annually to Audit Committee
Build a framework to measure and publish what climate work costs and what it delivers, and report it to Audit Committee on an ongoing basis.
Dec 20, 2021— read the carried motion
That Council direct Administration to develop a framework to measure and report on the Climate Strategy actions, budget and annual spend. That Council direct Administration to provide ongoing expenditure reports to be submitted to Audit Committee;
EC2021-1698 - Update GHG targets and set sector-specific interim targets
Update the city's net-zero-by-2050 target into administration's operating plan and set sector-specific interim milestones so progress is measurable.
Dec 20, 2021— read the carried motion
That Council direct Administration to update the city-wide and corporate greenhouse gas reduction target to be net-zero emissions by 2050 and set sector specific interim targets to ensure accountability and benchmarking;
EC2021-1698 - Publish a retrofit plan for city-owned assets and carry carbon targets into 2023-2026 budgets
Produce a retrofit plan for city-owned buildings and operations with timelines and a costs/savings analysis, and require every business unit to build carbon targets into the 2023-2026 budget.
Dec 20, 2021— read the carried motion
That Council direct Administration to present a plan to retrofit and update all City owned assets with clean energy infrastructure and improvements that exceeds current energy standards; The Plan should include anticipated timelines, a costs/savings analysis, and an action prioritization of City-owned facilities and operations. Each Business Unit to build carbon targets and actions into their 2023 – 2026 business plans and budgets.
EC2021-1698 - Re-direct civic partners to align with climate-risk and emissions targets
Push the civic-partner alignment work from Nov 15 forward, explicitly including the new interim emissions targets.
Dec 20, 2021— read the carried motion
That Council direct Administration to work with civic partners and subsidiaries to ensure alignment with Calgary's climate risk reduction goals and emissions reductions target, including the interim targets.
EC2021-1698 - Run a community outreach and education campaign on net zero
Run an outreach and education campaign with community partners so Calgarians can act on the city's net-zero target.
Dec 20, 2021— read the carried motion
That Council direct Administration to connect with community partners in an outreach and educational campaign that will empower all Calgarians to play their part in meeting the City's net-zero target and reduce climate risk in our communities;
EC2021-1698 - Report progress by end of Q3 2022 to inform the 2023-2026 budget
Report progress on the above directives by end of Q3 2022 so it can be considered in the 2023-2026 budget cycle.
Dec 20, 2021— read the carried motion
Due to the urgent nature of the Global Climate Emergency, Council directs Administration to pursue and report on the progress on the above actions, to be reported on by the end of Q3 2022, in order to be considered during the 2023-2026 Budget Cycle.
EC2021-1698
For the trade-off between rescinding and keeping the declaration, see /climate/stakes. For circulating misinformation about the cost of the declaration, see /climate/claims.