Whereas CleanBC is a pathway to a more prosperous, balanced, and sustainable future; And whereas northern, remote, and rural communities face barriers to work towards the goals outlined in CleanBC due to lack of resources, training, and capacity at a local and regional level, such as Energy Step Code Certified Energy Advisor and dealerships providing options for electric vehicles: Therefore be it resolved the UBCM lobby the Province of BC to provide greater support of resources, training, and capacity-building for northern, remote, and rural communities as they work towards meeting the CleanBC Plan goals, in particular the aspects of Cleaner Transportation and Better Buildings.
Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy The Province is providing CleanBC programs and rebates for zero-emissions vehicles ZEVs and better buildings to directly support communities in BC. The Province continues to support the CleanBC Go Electric Program which has been successful in: - reducing market barriers - encouraging the adoption of ZEVs province-wide by British Columbians - leveraging private, municipal and federal investment in ZEVs and infrastructure in BC - supporting new economic opportunities in the ZEV sector. The Province has committed more than 382 million to make ZEVs more affordable and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A focus of Provincial funding for public fast charging stations is on connecting northern and rural areas of BC to allow ZEV travel throughout the province. The Province passed the Zero-Emission Vehicles Act ZEV Act on May 30, 2019 and the Zero-Emission Vehicles Regulation on July 30, 2020, which requires automakers to meet ZEV sales targets reaching 10 percent of new light duty vehicle sales by 2025, 30 percent by 2030, and 100 percent by 2040. The purpose of the ZEV Act is to ensure increased ZEV availability and choice at more affordable prices everywhere in British Columbia. Under BCs low carbon fuel standard, fuel suppliers could generate compliance credits by undertaking actions that are not otherwise economically viable to encourage uptake of lower carbon transportation fuels e.g. investing in low carbon intensity hydrogen production and fueling infrastructure. To increase capacity to implement the BC Energy Step Code in northern, remote and rural communities, the Province is actively working with partners and Energy Advisors to maintain and further develop support programs for these communities. To reduce the cost of energy advisors in new construction, the CleanBC Better Homes New Construction Program, launched in November 2020, provides rebates of up to 15,000 to builders for the construction of new, energy efficient residential homes. The program offers flexibility through two participation pathways: - Heat pump pathway: build a new home that uses an electric heat pump, regardless of BC Energy Step Code level; or - Energy Step Code pathway: build a new home to Step 3 or higher that uses electric space and water heating systems. Optional bonus rebates are also available to help make working with an energy advisor more affordable and for homes built with no fossil fuel connection.