B.C. climate action plan focuses on cleaner cars, buildings, industry
Posted December 5, 2018 2:57 pm.
Last Updated December 5, 2018 6:59 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – We can grow our province’s LNG sector while reducing emissions.
That is one part of a larger government plan to reduce emissions by 40 per cent by 2030.
The province plans to achieve this by electrifying natural gas production on a mass scale. There are also aggressive plans to get more clean cars and trucks on the road, as well as make changes to the building code to make structures more energy efficient.
“We’re going to be working on changes to the building code so that homes are net zero by 2032,” said Horgan.
“That means changing the way we build our homes to ensure that we are doing as little impact as we possibly can.”
The province says it is expediting the switch to cleaner fuels at the gas pump and every new building built in B.C. will be “net-zero energy ready” by 2032.
The CleanBC plan pledges that by 2040, every new car sold in B.C. will be a zero-emission vehicle.
“We’re going to make them more available, more accessible, and more affordable,” Horgan promised.
“We are going to be bringing in … leading fuel standards, matching California.”
The plan still has to finalize how to achieve 25 per cent of the outlined emission reductions, which it promises to do within the next two years.
In terms of new incentives, the province is offering $1,200 toward replacing your electric heating system with a heat pump. Alternatively, it will give you $2,000 if you wish to replace an oil, propane or natural gas heating system with a heat pump.
The province is promising to outline further incentives in the February budget.
In order to help accelerate this green transition, the province plans to dedicate money toward retraining workers.
The government is also promising an overhaul of how garbage is handled, aiming to reduce household and industrial waste, and instead turn it into what it calls a “clean resource.”
