Rural Alberta Deliberates on Climate Change

Transcription

1 Rural Alberta Deliberates on Climate Change ACSRC Report Series #07-11

2 Rural Alberta Deliberates on Climate Change ACSRC Report Series #07-11 Authors Acknowledgements These notes were created by the staff of the, University of Alberta Augustana Campus. The creation of these notes would not have been possible without the input of the meeting participants: John Parkins (University of Alberta), Mishka Lysack (University of Calgary), David Kahane (University of Alberta), Ben Thibault (Pembina Institute) and Glynnis Hood (University of Alberta). No particular observation or comment should be attributed to any specific individual, unless otherwise specified. Any errors in description or interpretation are those of the author. Research funding for this project was provided by Alberta Rural Development Network (ARDN). 1

3 Abstract This project helped solidify the relationships between researchers at the University of Calgary, University of Alberta, and the Pembina Institute. These relationships were first sparked at a virtual conference in 2010 hosted by the Pembina Institute, Alberta Acts on Climate Change, on engaging Albertans of the different facets and elements of climate change. These relationships will lead to further meetings and discussions. 2

4 Table of Contents Acknowledgements 1 Abstract 2 Executive Summary 4 Outcomes 4 Next Steps 4 Publications in the Series should be cited as: AUTHOR, TITLE, ACSRC REPORT SERIES NO./YEAR [URL] 3

5 Executive Summary This grant was designed to support the development first of several events that will link extant activities exploring deliberative democracy and climate change (such as the SSHRC Community-University Research Alliance, "Alberta Climate Dialogue-ABCD: Deliberative Democracy and Climate Change in Alberta and Beyond") with the activities of the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary, the Climate Change Initiative of the Pembina Institute, Alberta Acts on Climate Change and the. Specifically, this grant supported a series of preliminary meeting of the core researchers involved in these initiatives in the late summer/early fall of 2010 and into the spring of 2011, with the objective of designing a three-pronged strategy for (1) building upon the ABCD CURA to include rural communities and rural issues; (2) linking the researchers involved to the Environment Theme Working Group of the SSHRC-funded "Transatlantic Dialogue" Research Cluster based at Carleton University in order to build connections and knowledge transfer with European and EU-based research; and (3) developing an evidence-informed program of public engagement and deliberative democratic practices in Alberta that links the research community with rural, urban and "new rural" communities facing issues of climate change adaptation and mitigation. Outcomes 1. Creation of an ad hoc working group to support climate change-relevant research and community engagement at the two large universities in the province. 2. Identifying key areas of work for the ad hoc working group, including collaboration with community and government stakeholders in the area of renewable energy. 3. List of key community stakeholders and actors interested in supporting ongoing deliberative and participatory events and activities examining issues such as climate change, climate change science and public policy, renewable energy toolkits and tools for public deliberative forums. 4. The ad hoc working group will now move into implementing an event that speaks with respect to rural dimensions of climate change in Alberta and leverage points for transformation (such as a consensus conference, SWOT sessions, and deliberative workshops on research, policy and practice for rural and urban areas). Next Steps The ad hoc group has now assessed interest/demand and availability of resources across the province. As a result, we anticipate holding a deliberative event as a complement to the ABDC project currently running at the University of Alberta. 4