Vancouver isn’t banning natural gas stoves, fireplaces in new builds

A Vancouver city councillor’s proposal to ban natural gas hookups in new residential builds will not go ahead as she planned.

Coun. Adriane Carr initially put forward a motion to limit features like gas stoves and fireplaces in new homes and condos. In addition to citing the city’s goal of being “net zero” by 2050, she said at the time not using natural gas in homes was much safer for people and the environment.

Instead, she says ABC councillors replaced language in her motion “to align Vancouver’s building bylaw with the new provincial government Zero Carbon Step Code, at the top scale of that.”

“I checked with staff today and that step code, actually, does give builders a chance to put in stoves that are natural gas into a new build home,” she told CityNews Thursday.

“It doesn’t get to where my motion would have taken council, so it doesn’t provide the elimination of gas stoves, which, of course, are a threat for health, especially children and our planet.”

Carr’s initial motion, “Ensuring Healthier Climate-Smart Homes,” was debated Wednesday. It said at least 25 per cent of “today’s global warming is driven by methane from human actions.”

#VanCityCouncil approves the amended motion for item A2 – Ensuring Healthier Climate-Smart Homes. That concludes the Standing Committee meeting. Next meeting is Auditor General Committee meeting on June 1, 2023. See agenda online: https://t.co/AlxsBz5HNv

— Vancouver City Clerk (@VanCityClerk) June 1, 2023

B.C.’s new step code was announced in early May. According to the province, it “provides tools for local governments to encourage or require lower emissions in new buildings.”

“It’s just brought in, so how it shakes down is to be seen. Builders are going to have a chance to assess whether or not they want to go with, sort of, emissions-reduction on a prescriptive level, in which case they could choose not do gas into homes, but they have a chance to put it in and then they have to get emissions down in other ways. It’s going to be a bit of a work in progress as builders look at the choices they have,” Carr explained.

While it’s not totally what she had envisioned, Carr admits the new Step Code is “more progressive” than what was previously in place. She believes it will likely have “some positive impact.”

“It’s an improvement … but it doesn’t go as far as it needs to, both from the point of view of climate action and for protecting the health of the people living in those homes, especially children,” she said.

Carr says she’s “quite upset” with the way the changes were made, noting she only found out about the “strike and replace” on her motion during the actual debate of it in council.

‘Customers should have a choice’: FortisBC

Meanwhile, FortisBC is pleased Vancouverites will continue to have the choice of electric versus natural gas.

“We believe that the consumer, the residents, the constituents of Vancouver should be able to choose what makes the most sense for them, whether that be using the natural gas system or using the electric system. Both systems have a way to help reduce emissions,” explained Jason Wolfe, director of energy solutions, FortisBC.

“In the case of the gas system, we have renewable gas coming on, we’re looking at hydrogen, but we really do believe that customers should have a choice. That will keep costs down.”

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Wolfe says FortisBC agrees there needs to be “immediate action on climate change.” However, he adds “we have to maintain a balance between affordability, reliability, and sustainable energy.”

He notes that, currently, the province is primarily served by both the electric and gas systems for buildings.

“Each system delivers about the same amount of energy. But in the winter, the gas system delivers twice the amount of energy that the electric system does, so there certainly is a concern of being able to provide all the energy that Vancouverites need for heating and cooking during these cold, cold months. So you really do need both the gas and the electric system to work in tandem,” Wolfe said.

Vancouver Green Party councillor says leaders are at ‘pivotal moment’ in climate crisis

Despite the continued reliance on natural gas, Wolfe says FortisBC foresees being able to “transition to a gas system that is net zero” by 2050, using renewable gas and hydrogen.

“We believe we can hit the 2030 targets by the province as well,” he added.

However, Carr is skeptical of FortisBC’s pushback, saying “Fortis is self-serving around that.”

“They are a company that’s wanting to sell their product and they’re pushing back against climate-smart measures that would eliminate gas,” Carr said. “Scientists around the world have issued the most dire warnings to policy makers … saying that we have to stop building any new infrastructure that’s fossil-fuel based, we have to eliminate the fossil fuels in order to try and avert the worst of climate change that’s happening. And it’s already happening way faster and in way more extreme measures than scientists have predicted.”

She calls this a “pivotal moment,” adding politicians need to step up and take action.

FortisBC says currently, it is increasing its use of renewable gas. “We are taking that action very seriously,” Wolfe added.

-With files from Robyn Crawford