Vancouver City Council voted Wednesday night to reinstate a ban on natural gas in new buildings, reversing a decision it made in July.
After two days of deliberations and input from over 140 local residents, council members voted in favour of banning gas for space and water heating entirely, rather than allowing it with stricter energy efficiency requirements. The main motion, which took the form of a proposal to reverse the city’s 2020 ban on gas in new construction, was defeated on a tie vote.
BC Hydro has unveiled nine new wind projects to meet the growing demand for clean energy while keeping rates affordable for public and industrial users.
Adrian Dix, the new Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions, announced the projects alongside Premier David Eby on Monday. Dix said the projects will enhance B.C.’s clean energy supply, strengthen the economy and uphold the province’s commitment to affordable rates and reconciliation with Indigenous communities.
It wasn’t easy, and it was uncomfortably close. But late Wednesday evening, the gas industry’s effort to re-introduce fossil fuel heating in new homes and buildings in Vancouver was mercifully defeated.
Mobilizing to confront the climate emergency desperately requires forward momentum. Instead, thanks to the unrelenting persistence of the fossil gas industry, countless Vancouver-area climate activists and organizations just spent untold hours over the last four months re-prosecuting a fight they had already won.
Less than one week after a self-proclaimed dictator, climate change denier, and big oil-funded billionaire (among other equally impressive accolades) took the single most powerful political office in the world, it seems like a horrible time to release a book about the Green New Deal (GND).
Canada is out of excuses. Europe slashes climate pollution while we flounder
To avoid a dystopian future for our climate, the world’s most advanced economies must lead the way. These are the nations with the necessary money, talent and capacity to transition to safer energy sources first. And their high per-capita emissions mean these nations are disproportionally responsible for creating the crisis.
