SHANNON MIEDEMA (MES鈥�04) is a climate leader focused on less, not more.
A director of the Environment & Climate Change team for the Halifax Regional Municipality, Shannon Miedema is driving implementation of HalifACT, the city鈥檚 climate action plan. Its goal? Net-zero emissions by 2050.
It鈥檚 ambitious, but Miedema says the city doesn鈥檛 have a choice. 鈥淚t鈥檚 what we have to achieve. The science tells us it is not optional.鈥�
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Miedema has been a strong advocate for the environment since childhood. Her commitment to protecting the natural world intensified during high school and her undergrad, and brought her to AV俱乐部 where she completed a Masters in Environmental Studies under ecological economist Dr. Peter Tyedmers.
While there鈥檚 great variety in her job, Miedema breaks it down into three main functions: adaptation or 鈥渃limate resilience鈥� (safeguarding infrastructure, people, and places against climate impacts), mitigation (driving down emissions, renewable energy, and energy efficiency in buildings and transportation), and environmental sustainability (watershed management, wetland protection).
A tangible example of how her work comes to life is Halifax鈥檚 recent acquisition of a refrigerated truck. It will be both a mobile food market and available during power outages鈥攐n the rise due to extreme weather events鈥攖o drive through communities facing food insecurity, allowing residents to store food from their freezers inside the truck until power is restored.
Miedema consistently brings a strong social justice lens to the work, saying, 鈥淚鈥檝e always been fired up by things that seem unfair.鈥� The inequities laid bare by COVID and environmental racism motivate her further.
She says while her work is full of challenges to overcome, it鈥檚 also her dream job. It鈥檚 highly collaborative and requires building relationships with partners like AV俱乐部. Dal鈥檚 Office of Sustainability and departments like Facilities Management and Ancillary Services have been preparing the university to meet the challenge of net-zero emissions by 2050 by incorporating energy sustainability into policy, planning, projects, and operations for more than a decade.
Miedema also partners with Dal鈥檚 Faculty of Architecture and Planning on climate risk mapping and sea-level rise visualization, and to help deliver a public lecture series on climate change. She guest lectures and consults with Dal鈥檚 on ways to ensure water quality and ecosystem health, plus she works with , which supports students developing innovative solutions to important local and global programs.
The work all carries a sense of urgency for Miedema, but she remains hopeful. 鈥淭he window of time is narrowing but we do have an opportunity to get this right,鈥� she says.
Miedema flanked by on her right by Mayor Mike Savage and MP Andy MacLellan when announcing LC3 for Halifax. LC3 is鈥痑 partnership with Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to make communities more energy efficient.
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This story appeared in the DAL Magazine Fall 2022 issue. Flip through the rest of the Fall 2022 issue using the links below.