MidlandToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected] or via the website. Please include your full name, daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is in response to an article about deputations regarding climate change, published Dec. 1.
While I appreciate the coverage of our recent deputations, the article misrepresents KICLEI’s mission and the purpose of our work.
KICLEI’s goal is to advocate for localism and community-driven solutions to environmental challenges. Our focus is not “anti-globalist,” as stated in the article, but rather on ensuring that municipalities maintain control over their resources and governance. We believe environmental stewardship programs should originate within communities, not from top-down mandates or external frameworks. This ensures that solutions are practical, cost-effective, and aligned with the immediate needs of residents.
Our recent deputations to councils were designed to spark discussion on how municipalities allocate resources, particularly regarding their participation in programs like the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) initiative. While PCP is marketed as a tool for sustainability, its implementation often requires costly data collection, new technologies, and alignment with long-term global targets that may not address the pressing needs of local communities. We believe that councils should prioritize immediate community needs — like road maintenance, emergency preparedness, and waste management — over distant global objectives.
The purpose of our work is to empower municipalities to:
- Promote transparency: Encourage open dialogue about international partnerships and their local implications.
- Safeguard local control: Advocate for decision making that prioritizes the well-being of residents and aligns with their priorities.
- Foster accountability: Ensure municipal budgets are used effectively, supporting critical local infrastructure and services.
Unfortunately, the article sidelines these core objectives by focusing on peripheral details and unrelated associations. It is disheartening to see symbolic affiliations and event details overshadow the substantive financial and governance concerns we raised. Additionally, the absence of direct quotes from our deputations or outreach for comment left a significant gap in the story, limiting the public’s understanding of our position.
KICLEI’s message is simple: Municipalities should pursue community-based environmental solutions that balance sustainability with economic and social realities. Local councils have the power to lead by focusing on bottom-up initiatives that directly benefit their communities while maintaining transparency and fiscal responsibility.
We encourage continued discussion on these issues, and we welcome questions or engagement to clarify our mission further. Thank you for providing an opportunity to highlight the purpose behind our work.
Maggie Braun
Founder, KICLEI (Kicking the International Council Out of Local Environmental Initiatives)
