Calgary city council members have given the thumbs up for a costly climate strategy aimed at having the city reach net-zero by 2050. .The 99-page action plan was debated for three hours by councillors on Tuesday evening and ended in a 9-6 vote in favour of the $87 billion plan. ."We've decided tonight that we've made a commitment to taking action on climate change," said Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek.."It was critical to move this forward," said Gondek, and indicated an action plan and budget would be forthcoming by November. ."What you will see is climate-impacted mitigation plans put through all of the business units and the service plans that are coming forward and accompanying budget requests," Gondek said..Costs will be divided into a $3.1 billion annual commitment for the next 28 years and will be paid for, not only by the municiple purse, but all levels of government and some private-sector stakeholders. .Gondek said "significant investment" is needed to achieve net-zero by 2050. .The six councillors who voted against the strategy included Seau Chu, Sonya Sharp, Andre Chabot, Richard Pootmans, Jennifer Wyness and Dan McLean.
