WHEREAS the Province has indicated that the greenhouse gas GHG reduction targets required to satisfy Section 877 3 of the Local Government Act should be expressed as a specific reduction from an identifiable baseline in order for a local government to ensure its future eligibility for Provincial grant funding; AND WHEREAS the inventory of data necessary for the establishment of a community wide emissions baseline, or for future measure of community wide emissions does not exist, and many local governments do not have the resources to obtain this data; AND WHEREAS it is inappropriate to establish specific GHG reduction targets that are not based on relevant and accurate information, and have no meaning with regard to measurement and achievability: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM request that the Province not tie greenhouse gas reduction targets that are required in Official Community Plans to provincial grant funding until such time as more precise community wide emissions baseline data is in place.
Ministry of Community, Sport Cultural Development The Provinces Community Energy and Emissions Inventory CEEI provides all local governments in BC with a community energy and emissions inventory. The purpose of CEEI Reports is to provide local governments and other users with accurate, consistent and relevant community-level energy and greenhouse gas GHG emissions information. One of the principles upon which the CEEI is built is continuous improvement, i.e. a commitment to strive to continue to improve the accuracy of data collection and analysis methods, contingent on available resources and reporting needs, on an ongoing basis. One example of an area for possible improvement is provision of data at the Electoral Area jurisdictional boundary level. At this time, the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development is not tying GHG reduction targets that are required in Official Community Plans to provincial grant funding.