Four Regina City Councillors are hosting a virtual event aimed at learning how to achieve a just transition to renewable energy Tuesday night.
Ward 8 Councillor Shanon Zachidniak says even though the city’s plan is to be renewable by 2050, planning is already underway.
“The consultants have been hired, and the statistics have been compiled, and soon we’ll be talking about what steps we want to take as a community,” said Zachidniak. “So now is a great time to hear from others in other communities about some of the ideas that could be possible for us to implement here.”
The event, held by Zachidniak, Coun. Dan LeBlanc, Coun. Andrew Stevens, and Coun. Cheryl Stadnichuk will feature speakers who are experts on climate change and sustainability.
Zachidniak says having experts talk at the event will give the community the chance to better educate themselves on possible changes.
“The entire process here, will be guided by local stakeholders,” said Zachidniak. “So, it’s also good for us to hear opinions from experts from elsewhere who can tell us some ideas based on their research of possibilities here that are based on best practices.”
Zachidniak says there’s a general consensus that the city has a lot of work to do in the next 29 years to reach its goal, and this event will give everyone the chance to know exactly what that work is.
She adds it’s a priority of the city to ensure people working in the resource sector are involved in the transition.
“It’s important that we are keeping residents informed, and hearing their opinions, and ensuring that our transition is a just transition,” said Zachidniak. “That is going to take into account the workers in resource industries, and ensure they have opportunities when we transition to renewable energy.”
The event called “Regina’s Just Transition” can be found on Facebook and is open to anyone. It runs from 6:00 to 8:00 pm tonight.
