If you care about climate policy, you probably feel dispirited by politics these days. Our federal and provincial governments are embracing ever higher levels of fossil fuel production while rolling back much of Canada’s climate policy. New pipeline, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and even coal projects are being greenlit in record time with little regard for environmental protection. The shift is so pronounced that some of our elected climate champions are losing faith in politics as a viable way to combat global heating and protect the environment. 

Steven Guilbeault, the former federal environment and climate minister and the architect of most of the previous Liberal government’s climate policy, resigned his Montreal seat in August. More recently, Kelly Greene, who served as BC’s emergency management and climate readiness minister, announced she will not run again because of safety concerns about increased shipping of LNG from Tilbury’s expanded storage site. It is to weep.

But take heart. There are civic elections underway in Ontario, BC and Manitoba this month. And much of the boots-on-ground work to reduce CO2 emissions that cause global heating is done at the municipal level. Take, for example, the heating and cooling of buildings, which consume........

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