Although the federal government has announced it would withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol, local initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are underway.
Powell River Regional District’s planning department has been updating community plans to meet provincial legislation for reducing GHG emissions.
Provincial legislation requires that all official community plans (OCPs) are amended to include GHG emission reduction targets, policies and actions. BC has committed to a 33 per cent reduction in provincial GHG emissions by 2020 and an 80 per cent reduction by 2050. Most local governments have set targets in line with provincial targets.
So far, the regional board has passed the initial readings of amendments for the Savary Island, Texada Island and Lund OCPs. The regional district has held GHG workshops in each of the areas.
A community energy and GHG inventory was completed for the province in 2007. It provides a general baseline for energy use and GHG emissions in communities across BC.
For Lund and Texada, the inventory data indicates that 68 per cent of GHG emissions is from on-road transportation (cars, trucks), 31 per cent is from buildings (space heating, appliances) and one per cent is from solid waste.
The baseline data from the provincial survey isn’t applicable to Savary, because of the low number of year-round residents. One of the policies in its OCP amendment states that islanders are encouraged to work with the regional district and other levels of government to record and measure the current use of fossil fuels and GHG emissions. The resulting baseline data will allow measurement progress toward reducing fossil fuel consumption and achieving GHG emissions reduction targets.
All three OCP amendments state the target is to reduce GHG emissions by 33 per cent by 2020 and to consider the impacts of climate change in all land use decisions.
The amendments include other policies, such as promoting energy efficiency and substitution and encouraging retention and enhancement of natural trees and vegetation, alternative land transportation and development guidelines for shoreline areas.
Prior to adoption, the regional district will hold public hearings about the OCP amendments.
