Climate Mitigation & Adaptation in BC
BC Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Total GHG emissions in BC have seen small and variable changes in recent years. There was only a 0.5% reduction in emissions from the baseline level of 2007 compared to 2017.44 In contrast, average GHG emissions per capita have steadily decreased since the early 2000s. The energy sector has historically produced significantly more GHG emissions in BC than other sectors such as waste, industrial processes and product use, afforestation and deforestation, and agriculture. This trend, however, remains strong today as, within the energy sector, some of the largest emitters of GHGs remain oil and gas extraction, transportation, and residential energy use.44
BC Climate Action Charter
The BC Climate Action Charter is a voluntary agreement between the BC government, the Union of BC Municipalities, and local governments to address climate change through developing targets for GHG emissions reduction. Signatories have committed to achieving carbon neutrality in corporate operations, measuring and reporting on their community’s GHG emissions, and building more energy efficient communities.45
Local Government Climate Change Mitigation
Climate change mitigation and adaptation in the local context is defined as efforts taken by local governments to reduce the emission of GHGs and adapt to environmental transformation caused by climate change. Local governments play an important role in the reduction of GHG emissions in BC, and 187 of the 190 communities in the province have signed on to the BC Climate Action Charter. Community specific initiatives include improved land use planning and carbon neutrality frameworks targeted at reducing GHG emissions.46 For example, in 2018, the City of Nanaimo, in alignment with its commitments to the BC Climate Action Charter, was able to cut its emissions and save 750,000-1,000,000 kWh per year by implementing an enclosed and reinforced concrete water reservoir. This GHG offset program has provided the city with clean and safe drinking water, bringing it one step closer to carbon neutrality.47
BC Healthy Communities Initiative: Planh
BC Healthy Communities is an independent not-for-profit organization in partnership with BC Ministry of Environment’s Climate Action Secretariat and the BC Ministry of Health aiming to prioritize community health and well-being by protecting and improving the social determinants of health, including those most impacted by climate change.48 The organization has found that many health authorities have not yet identified climate change as a public health concern in the way that they do with other public health issues.49 Further, around 80% of health authority leaders do not have an action plan in place for climate change mitigation or adaptation strategies in BC, even though the World Health Organization (WHO) has encouraged public health officials to do so swiftly to reduce future adverse climate effects.49
In response to BC’s lack of climate change planning and mitigation strategy, BC Healthy communities has launched the Planh initiative, which aims to develop and plan for healthier communities in partnership with provincial health authorities, the Union of BC Municipalities, and the Ministry of Health.50 Planh provides funding opportunities as well as recommendations for how the public health sector can contribute to local climate change mitigation agendas, for example, by informing policy and planning, integrating public health and climate change messages into communications, and developing programs and protocols for emergency response.50
