The City of Saskatoon (City) and the University of Saskatchewan (USask) have developed a Climate Commitment and Call to Action with an aim to speed up the transition to a green community.
To formalize this pledge which progresses the goals of a first-of-its-kind 2017 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between a Canadian university and municipality the Climate Commitment and Call to Action has been presented to the City's Standing Policy Committee on Environment, Utilities and Corporate Services (EUCS) on Monday morning, Aug. 9, 2021.
"There are many co-benefits that can result from this strong partnership and project collaboration. The City, USask, Saskatoon residents and students can expect to benefit from lowered emissions and pollution and environmental protection which make the world around us healthier," says Jeanna South, Director of Sustainability. "Equity and reconciliation are top priorities throughout this commitment, thus we also expect to see improvements in our relationships and quality of life."
While both the City and USask have their own climate action plans, this additional commitment will provide common ground between the institution and municipality in order to make way for easier collaboration.
"We are excited to be taking this important step to further develop our relationship with the City on this urgent and accelerating policy challenge," says Julian Demkiw, Senior Strategist for USask.
If approved by City Council, the first steps will involve sharing information on climate baselines and expanding student engagement. Further work will explore collaboration opportunities around equitable climate action on topics such as energy efficiency and biodiversity conservation.
Visit research.usask.ca/research-junction for more information on collaborations between the City of Saskatoon and the University of Saskatchewan.
