Climate Leadership Team

The Climate Leadership Team is the working group for the Community Climate Action Plan. The team provides insights on Squamish GHG emissions sources and projections and considers bold actions to reduce emissions and capitalize on economic opportunities. The team is supported by consultants from the Whistler Center for Sustainability and the Community Energy Association as well as District staff.

Climate Leadership Team Members

Meredith Adler

Meredith is the executive director of Student Energy – a global charity working to develop the next generation of energy leaders who will accelerate our transition to a sustainable energy future working with over 50,000 young energy leaders in every province and territory of Canada as well as over 150 countries around the world.

Throughout her career she has developed a broad base of knowledge on climate change and GHG reductions through a wide range of policy options that the young people she trains and supports work on across the globe. Her core expertise within climate and energy is effective community engagement, building the skills of people so they can be part of the green economy and training energy and cleantech entrepreneurs. She also works at the intersection of municipal, provincial and federal policy with a strong understanding of opportunities and levers for support within each jurisdiction.

Ian Bruce

Ian Bruce is the Director of Science and Policy for the David Suzuki Foundation (DSF) and a leading climate change policy analyst in Canada. Ian leads DSF’s national science, strategy and stakeholder engagement initiatives to advance environmental and climate solutions. Ian is on the board of Al Gore’s NGO The Climate Reality Project Canada, and is a former member of the City of Vancouver’s Greenest City action team and an adviser on Metro Vancouver’s stakeholder roundtable on transportation (Translink). Prior to joining DSF, Ian was a field geophysicist and team lead with Schlumberger, the largest oil and gas service company in the world. Ian holds a B.Sc. in geological engineering from the University of New Brunswick and a management certificate from Eco Canada and Harvard Business School.

Luisa Burhenne

Luisa has a Master in Physics, completed a PhD focusing on renewable energy technologies at the University of Frieburg in Germany and has completed two post doctoral positions at the University of BC, including one in partnership with Squamish’s Carbon Engineering. Currently, she is a sustainability strategist for GHG Accounting.

With GHG Accounting, she completes GHG emissions inventories, complex carbon assessments and identifies emissions reduction potential for municipalities and other organizations. She is also leading research on implementing renewable energy technologies to meet local emission reductions targets.

Luisa is a board member of the Squamish Climate Action Network and initiated monthly networking events for sustainability professionals in Squamish.

Bob Deeks

Bob has been involved in sustainable low energy construction since the early 2000’s and has been building low energy homes since then. His company RDC Fine Homes was the 1st local builder to certify to the Built Green Standard in 2006 and they built the 1st modeled Net Zero home in 2010.
Bob is past Chair of the Canadian Home Builders Association’s Technical Research Committee and Net Zero Housing Council. Bob is the current Co-Vice Chair of the provincial Energy Step Code Council and was a member of the committee that developed the BC Energy Step Code for Part 9 Buildings. He is also a member of the Standing Committee for Energy Efficiency with Codes Canada helping to develop a Tiered energy code for the National Building Code.

RDC remains committed to the reduction of energy use in the homes they build and today they are targeting every project to meet BC Energy Step Code Step 4 or 5: every home RDC builds is certified with an EnerGuide label.  RDC has been recognized as leader in the community, winning the Sustainability In Action Award and Business Person of the Year.

Trina Fearon

Trina is a Grade 12 student at Howe Sound Secondary and has been elected by her peers as the Commissioner of Ecology for 3 years running. During this time she has led several environmental initiatives, including the first student-led climate strike in Squamish and a motion to ban plastics in Squamish. Her experience and outlook has given her the opportunity to represent Squamish’s student body and liaise between many different groups.

As the Chair of the District Student Council (2018) she worked with students across the School District to share opinions with the School Board. She has also addressed several elementary school classes to share information about environmental initiatives with the goal of inspiring the next generation of local change-makers. Trina provides a unique perspective as a student to the Climate Leadership Team.

Fred Ghatala

Fred’s career has been focused on practically addressing GHG emissions, primarily through the reduced usage of fossil fuels. His education began in business and trended towards climate change-related issues: an undergraduate degree in finance from George Washington University, and a masters in resource management and climate change policy at UBC’s Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability.  

He is currently the Director for Carbon and Sustainability at Advanced Biofuels Canada, a national industry association established to promote the production and use of advanced biofuels in Canada. He also served as head of Canadian delegation to ISO 13065 ‘Sustainability Criteria for Bioenergy’, an international standard published in 2015. Of relevance to the Climate Leadership Team, he co-authored a report for the City of Vancouver on how they can reduce emissions through the increased use of renewable diesel. Many of the recommendations are being implemented, as detailed through the CoV’s transition to 100% renewable diesel in their fleets.

Fred has 17 years of relevant experience in climate change policy, including sustainability standards development, environmental management system assurance, emission quantification protocols, and lifecycle analysis models. Previously, he was the Director of Government Affairs for Canadian Bioenergy Corporation which developed a co-venture to construct Canada’s largest biodiesel facility (70MGY) which commissioned in 2013.

Emma Jarrett

Emma is the Manager of Management Systems (Health, Safety, Environment and Quality) at Squamish Terminals. Squamish Terminals has an environmental management system which enables them to reduce their environmental impacts, and address regulatory demands and non-regulated environmental issues. They are a member of the Green Marine program for ports, terminals and shipping lines, which provides a framework for them to follow to help reduce their environmental footprint. Areas worked on are air emissions, spill prevention, community impact, environmental leadership and waste management. They are a certified member of Climate Smart, a company which calculates GHG emissions. Emma is also a member of the Port of Vancouver Climate and Air Action Workshop Team.

Ian Picketts

Ian is a faculty member at Quest University with a specialization in community responses to climate change. Ongoing research activities include work on visualizing development scenarios in Squamish and on examining the cumulative effects of climate change and resource development in watersheds. He currently teaches courses focusing on earth and climate science, resource management, and interdisciplinary perspectives on climate change.

Ian continues to do a small amount of consulting work outside of an academic setting. Noteworthy recent projects include creating an adaptation strategy for the District of Squamish, assessing the climate vulnerability of Northeastern BC, and drafting a Business Plan for an integrated flood risk management plan for the Lower Mainland region.

Before returning to graduate school Ian spent several years working as an environmental engineer. Ian is also a board member of the Squamish Climate Action Network, and active in its transportation and energy subcommittee.

Doug Rae

Doug is a member of Carbon Engineering’s management team with broad experience solving complex challenges and specific experience working to combat climate change globally. Carbon Engineering, founded in 2009, is a Squamish-based clean energy company leading the commercialization of groundbreaking technology that captures CO₂ directly from the atmosphere, and a second technology that synthesizes it into clean, affordable transportation fuels. CE is actively involved working with policy makers and organizations looking to reduce emissions globally.

 At Carbon Engineering, he leads their international business development activities, working with policy makers and creating partnerships with plant developers, investors, and off-takers around the world. His interactions with global sustainability leaders provides a broad perspective of solutions.

Staff Contact

Dora Gunn, Sustainability Coordinator, dgunn@squamish.ca, 604.815.5048