The Capital Regional District (CRD) Parks and Environment Committee has voted unanimously in favour of declaring a climate emergency.

“This is a great first step and I’m looking forward to seeing this motion now move to the entire CRD Board,” said Saanich Councillor and CRD Director, Ned Taylor.

He pulls no punches when it comes to why he wants the region to declare a climate emergency.

“Because this is a state of emergency, the fact of the matter is climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing our world if not the most pressing issue,” said Taylor.

He believes the most significant part of the motion is the goal of being carbon neutral by 2030.

“We need to be working towards that time line, it’s an ambitious one but I think it’s necessary,”

The next step is for the motion to go to the CRD Board where all 24 directors will vote on it. It isn’t certain yet when the motion will be before the board, but it could be as soon as early February.

If the directors agree to declare a climate emergency, only after that, would it hit the agendas of all 13 municipalities.

Taylor is confident it will go all the way.

“This is a really special opportunity that we have. We live in one of the most environmentally conscious communities in the world and I hope that our local politicians will understand that and support this,” he said.

He believes a lot can be done to protect the environment at the local level, pointing to bans on plastic bags imposed by Victoria and Saanich.

When asked how he would respond to naysayers suggesting declaring a climate emergency is going too far, Taylor responded that it is just not true.

“This is my future at stake, one of the reasons I ran for office was because I’m worried about the future, I’m worried about the future of this world and this region,” explained the CRD’s youngest director.

He has missed out on getting the first such declaration in B.C.

Last week, Vancouver City Councillors voted unanimously to declare a climate emergency.

Several communities in the U.S. have also taken similar steps, including Los Angeles, and Oakland, CA.

The more, the better, said Taylor.

“I think it’s a good thing because now they’ve cleared the path for us, they’ve shown us this is doable. For me it’s not about the trophy, if it was the first in Canada that would have been special, but for me it’s about the impact we are going to have.”