WHEREAS local governments have made steady progress to meet the requirements of the Local Government Act to establish greenhouse gas reduction targets, policies, and actions in official community plans; AND WHEREAS further legislative and fiscal actions by the provincial government are necessary to enable local government actions to maximize reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in the buildings, transportation, and solid waste sectors: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the UBCM request that the Province: - in the buildings sector, accelerate the modernization of the BC Building Code and increase incentives and regulations for residential and commercial building retrofits; - in the transportation sector, enable local governments and similar local authorities to implement comprehensive transportation demand management measures, coordinate current provincial greenhouse gas emissions standards for light-duty vehicles with new federal standards, and increase funding for sustainable transportation infrastructure and the Scrap-It Program; - in the solid waste sector, accelerate legislative measures to reduce waste and emissions in product lifecycles, extended producer responsibility, and packaging; and - establish standard tools, assumptions, data and forecasting methods so that local and regional targets, policies and actions are coordinated.
Ministry of Community, Sport Cultural Development The Province acknowledges the significant role that local governments have to play in helping to reduce province-wide GHG emissions and appreciates the leadership and commitment demonstrated by BC local governments in taking action on climate change. To maximize opportunities to reduce GHG emissions, the Province has passed significant legislation in the building, transportation and solid waste sectors to accelerate climate action and help BC transition to a low carbon economy, including: - The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Vehicle Emissions Standards Act, to enable the adoption of vehicles emissions standards that will increase automobile efficiency. - The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Emissions Standards Statutes Amendment Act, to regulate landfill gas. - The Green House Gas Reduction Renewable and Low Carbon Fuel Requirements Act, to encourage the development of renewable forms of energy and decrease the carbon content of fuels. - The Local Government Green Communities Statutes Amendment Act, to require local governments to establish GHG reductions targets, policies and actions and encourage the development of more complete, compact, low carbon communities. With respect to the building sector, the Province has recently introduced new standards for ultra low-flow toilets 4.8 liters or dual flush and invited local government to sign on to a solar ready rough-in regulation. Work is currently underway on the 2011 BC Building Code, which will include new energy requirements for buildings, green concrete standards, and increased opportunities for grey water reuse. In addition, the Province is working with the Building Officials Association of BC to ensure buildings are being inspected by qualified building officials. In the transportation sector, the Province recognizes the benefits of national standards for vehicle emissions, and will work with the Federal Government to determine if federal standards provide the same levels of emission reduction contemplated in the emission standards. The Province has made unprecedented investments in transit and cycling to promote sustainable transportation infrastructure, including the 14 Billion transit plan which will add 1,500 new buses across the province, in addition to the rapid transitrapid bus in major centres. Looking forward, the Province will continue to work to work with its Federal and Local Government partners to identify further opportunities to remove legislative barriers and ensure that program funding, legislation, regulation and policy in the building, transportation and solid waste sectors are aligned and support local governments in maximizing GHG reductions in their communities.