In order to deal with the effects of global climate change, the District of North Vancouver must look far beyond its borders, according to Mayor Richard Walton.
Council discussed the higher temperatures, decreased snowfall and heightened storm intensity the municipality may face this century at a council workshop Nov. 25.
The last 30 years were the warmest three decades in the last 1,400 years, according to the district's environmental sustainability section manager Julie Pavey.
There will be a substantial loss to the North Shore's snow packs by 2050, according to Pavey's projections. While snow packs drip away, the sea level in the Burrard Inlet is expected to rise by a minimum of 20 centimetres by 2100. The maximum sea level rise in that time is projected at 89 cm.
In order to deal with what may end up lapping up on North Vancouver's shore, the district is planning to establish a working group focused on climate change adaptation as part of the 2014 financial plan.
However, the district needs to be careful not to duplicate the efforts of neighbouring communities, according to Walton.
"Our municipal boundaries on the issue almost completely don't matter," he said.
If 22 municipalities throughout Metro Vancouver embark on parallel initiatives, substantial ideas may get lost amid an endless array of consultants and reports, Walton said.
He compared the situation to the province's transportation quagmire, in which the problem is addressed in silos.
Coun. Doug MacKay-Dunn expressed concern about the future of Canexus chemical plant, which is located at sea level.
The district should be cognizant of allowing development on flood plains, according to Coun. Lisa Muri, who cited Lower Capilano as a possible risk.
"We say we'll be San Diego in 2050. What will San Diego be?" she asked. "We've screwed the world. Man screwed the world and it's too late now. Now it's about mitigation."
During the discussion, mitigation was defined as avoiding the unmanageable while adaptation was defined as managing the unavoidable.
"Now we're going to talk about shipping more oil to China," Muri said, segueing into a council discussion on the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline.
Coun. Robin Hicks and Roger Bassam did not attend the workshop.
