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The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) has a new climate target in sight.
On Dec. 15, Whistler council officially adopted a new greenhouse-gas emission reduction target of 50 per cent below 2007 levels.
“This basically means that we have to cut our emissions in half in the next 10 years,” said climate action coordinator Luisa Burhenne, in a presentation to council.
“That is very, very ambitious, and that means we have to act strongly, now.”
As it stands, Whistler is well off track in meeting its current goals.
Emissions rose four per cent in 2019, council heard on Sept. 1, with corporate and community emissions totalling 131,166 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
Passenger vehicle emissions continue to be the worst polluter, accounting for 54 per cent of Whistler’s GHG emissions, followed by natural gas at 35 per cent.
Community energy consumption was also up three per cent year over year.
All the more reason for the RMOW to be aggressive with its new target, Burhenne said.
To that end, council also formally adopted the Climate Action Big Moves Strategy on Dec. 15, which was first presented July 7 (see Pique, July 9, “RMOW banks on ‘big moves’ to reverse course on greenhouse-gas emissions”).
The RMOW’s 2021 budget includes $203,700 to help implement the Big Moves Strategy, Burhenne said in a report to council, noting that the money will be drawn from the RMOW’s provincial Climate Action Rebate Incentive Program reserve.
The strategy aims to zero in on transportation, buildings and waste, which together account for more than 90 per cent of Whistler’s greenhouse gas emissions, and outlines six “big moves” for the next decade: Move beyond the car (by 2030, 50 per cent of all trips in Whistler are by transit or active transport); decarbonize passenger and commercial transport (by 2030, 50 per cent of all vehicle kilometres travelled are from zero-emission vehicles); reduce visitor travel emissions (by 2030, Whistler demonstrates leadership in redefining tourism in a low-carbon world); build zero-emission buildings (by 2030, all new buildings achieve the top step in B.C.’s Energy Step Code, use only low carbon heating systems, and embodied carbon emissions drop by 40 per cent); make existing buildings better (by 2030, reduce emissions from residential buildings by 20 per cent and from large commercial buildings by 40 per cent); and close the loop and shift toward lower-carbon consumption (by 2030, reduce waste-sector emissions by 95 per cent and reduce embodied emissions from products and services).
But in the view of Councillor Duane Jackson, the math behind the new targets doesn’t quite add up.
Canada’s new climate plan is encouraging, “but I’m still struggling with how we actually achieve our goal,” Jackson said.
“I’m not saying we’re not going to try, but we’ve never achieved our goals before.”
As it relates to the Big Moves Strategy, it would be helpful for the public if the RMOW set achievable goals to ensure people don’t get discouraged, he added.
“So if there’s any way, when we start getting to the next stage, that the numbers and the economics are easily shared with participants, I’d find that really helpful,” he said.
Regardless of its per capita carbon footprint, Whistler has an obligation to do its part, said Coun. Arthur De Jong.
“Whatever we have in our means to help lower greenhouse gas emissions, we need to go at it with everything we can, within the economic realities,” he said. “I’m very encouraged.”
Since September, Burhenne has undertaken broad community engagement on the Big Moves Strategy, consulting with various municipal committees, the Association of Whistler Area Residents for the Environment, the Canadian Home Builders Association and the general public through an online survey.
With the strategy officially adopted, the RMOW can start thinking next steps—first and foremost a five-year, multi-departmental implementation and financial plan for the proposed Big Moves and related key initiatives.
The plan will be finalized by summer 2021, and presented to council with the annual energy and greenhouse gas performance report.
