On Feb. 2, I attended my second Metro Vancouver Climate Action Committee and it was a productive one!
During our first agenda item that looked at climate modelling, we heard from staff that while the targets laid out had pathways for Metro Vancouver, that we would not achieve the targets laid out, and as such we needed to go “faster and farther”. I pressed staff for a plan on how we would accelerate existing climate plans and achieve our targets, and I will continue to advocate for a clear and implementable plan.
We also discussed policies that improve air quality in the region. One program that Metro Vancouver has is to provide financial incentives for diesel engines to “be retired or moved outside of the region”. I raised concerns about how this was loophole that could potentially allow individuals to receive the incentive, then still sell diesel engines outside the region. Not only would these emissions still potentially affect the air quality of the region, they would still cause warming and worsen climate change. After raising the concern, staff agreed to report back in making changes to the policy to require the engine to be retired.
While discussing our air quality policies, I also brought up the topic of excavation. Some sites in the Lower Mainland have peat, and the process of excavation can trigger decomposition which releases methane emissions. Because methane is 25x more potent than CO2 on a 25 year scale and 85x worse on a 100 year scale, it is incredibly important to prevent these greenhouse gases from being released into our atmosphere. I asked for staff to look into the legality of whether Metro Vancouver had jurisdiction over methane regulations and they agreed.