With recent local criticism of the decisions made by Whistler’s Mayor and Council, Councillor Bob Lorriman said it was “rewarding” for Whistler to be recognized and congratulated by organizations and representatives from other municipalities at last week’s Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) conference in Penticton.

Mayor Ken Melamed and Lorriman attended the entire conference Sept. 22 to 26, where Whistler was presented with two awards and recognized for achievements such as leadership on sustainable community development, transit, and action on climate change. Lorriman said many of the accolades came in one-on-one conversations with other delegates.

“We’re respected by our colleagues in the province,” he said Tuesday (Sept. 30). “As much as we do a lot of things wrong here, we actually do a lot of things right.”

The municipality was presented with a 2008 Energy Action Award in the Community Planning and Development category for the athletes’ village as a compact, low-carbon, resident-restricted housing development with a district energy system. Melamed said the initiative is one way Whistler is working to reduce its energy footprint.

The award was presented by Blair Lekstrom, minister of Community Development. “By sponsoring these awards, we’re helping local government leaders from across the province learn about bold ways to address climate change and energy while saving money,” Lekstrom said in a statement.

Melamed also accepted a community recognition award on behalf of the municipality from Wood Works B.C. and the Canadian Wood Council. The award recognizes the municipality for its support of the province’s wood industry and its use of wood in construction of the new Whistler Public Library.

Melamed said Premier Gordon Campbell spoke about the value of B.C.’s wood industry in his closing speech at UBCM, and wood requires less energy than steel and concrete in construction.

Councillors Gordon McKeever and Ralph Forsyth each attended part of the conference, and Ted Battiston, municipal sustainability manager, made a presentation on Whistler’s greenhouse gas emissions inventory during a panel on the Climate Action Charter, Melamed said.

There was much discussion at the convention about B.C.’s carbon tax and its cost to municipalities, and Premier Campbell’s announcement that municipalities that have signed onto the Climate Action Charter will receive grants equal to what they pay in carbon tax was met with “great enthusiasm,” Lorriman said.

To date, 133 municipalities, including Whistler, have signed the B.C. Climate Action Charter, pledging to become carbon-neutral by 2012.

Melamed said he thinks it’s “achievable” for Whistler to become carbon-neutral by 2012 and Council and staff are pushing to get there ahead of the deadline.

Whistler is ahead of most communities in B.C. in its understanding and inventory of local emissions, he said. Whistler saw an eight per cent reduction in emissions by flaring the methane gas from the old landfill, and other initiatives such as encouraging more transit use by paving the day lots are part of the long-term plan, Melamed said.

Still, he said Whistler will have to purchase gold-standard offsets to reach the carbon-neutral goal.

There was “healthy debate” at UBCM about the carbon tax, and opinions were “fairly split,” Melamed said. A motion finally passed requesting that the Province consider the impact of the tax on northern communities.

As one delegate from Kelowna pointed out, despite varying opinions the carbon tax has sparked much dialogue on climate change in B.C., Melamed said. There is lingering misunderstanding about the tax and how urgent the call to action is, he said. The Resort Municipality of Whistler supports the carbon tax.

“The climate’s not waiting for us to get our act in order,” Melamed said.