The City of Vancouver is falling far short of its target to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 2020.
The City of Vancouver is rarely described as a climate laggard. But a report shows it is falling far short of its Greenest City Action Plan goal for reducing emissions of carbon dioxide equivalents.
The plan’s latest update indicates that there was only a 12-percent drop in greenhouse-gas emissions from 2007 to 2018.
Last year, 2.44 million tonnes were emitted citywide. The plan calls for a 33-percent reduction by 2020, to 1.87 million tonnes.
“It’s understandable that people are worried about the cost of taking action,” the update states. “That said, if we don’t cut carbon, if we don’t adapt our city and our economy, the cost of not taking action will be far greater.”
One of the greatest dangers is that feedback loops will kick in, sending the average global temperature far higher.
A study published last year in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences described the risk of a “Hothouse Earth Pathway” that could activate tipping points in a domino-style cascade.
Meanwhile, the 2018-19 update shows that the City of Vancouver exceeded its goal in the Greenest City Action Plan of having more than 50 percent of trips made by foot, bicycle, and public transit. It reached 53 percent by 2018.
The city has vastly exceeded its objective to reduce distance driven per resident to 20 percent below 2007 levels. That was down 38 percent by 2018.
However, the city has only managed to bring emissions from existing buildings down by 11 percent from 2007, whereas the goal is to cut those by 20 percent.
Earlier this year, Vancouver city council endorsed six “Big Moves” recommended by staff to achieve far greater reductions in greenhousegas emissions.
They include the goal that zeroemission vehicles will be used for 50 percent of kilometres driven in 2030 and that 90 percent of residents live within an easy walk or roll of their daily needs.
One of the most challenging Big Moves is ensuring that all new replacement heating and hot-water systems be zero-emission. About 95 percent of emissions from buildings in Vancouver are linked to the burning of natural gas for space heating and hot-water systems, according to the city.
“Eliminating these emissions is essential to meeting our 100% renewable energy target [by 2050] and heat pumps powered by low/zero-carbon electricity will be the primary enabling technology,” a city staff report stated earlier this year.