The Trustees of British Columbia’s School District 5 (Southeast Kootenay) recently passed the following motion, and wrote an explainatory letter to the Honourable George Abbott, BC Minister of Education.

The motion, and letter, communicate challenges they face within the current structure of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act, and suggests improvements that would help their district take real action to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

It is a useful tool for other districts facing similar challenges and considering similar action.

“November 28th, 2011

Honourable George Abbott
Minister of Education
P.O.Box 9045 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria, B.C.V8W 9E2

 Dear Mr. Abbott,

Re: Carbon Offsets

The SD5 Board of Trustees recognizes the leadership role the BC government has taken with regard to the reduction of carbon emissions in British Columbia and acknowledge that the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act is a step toward that laudible goal.

We appreciate that a program in its infancy is likely to require adaptations and changes during its first few years of operation. Having worked within the Greenhouse Gas Reduction framework since its inception in 2010 our Board has come to recognize some of the areas in which the Greenhouse Gas Reduction framework could be improved.

The Board also recognizes that, as the largest component of public building stock in the Province, school facilities represent one of the single largest opportunities for reducing real GHG emissions from provincial public sector operations.

Therefore, at its Regular Public Meeting of the Board of Education of  November 8^th, 2011 the Board carried the following motion…”

To read more, download the letter below.