Assessing municipal climate policies in British Columbia

This research project helped develop and experimentally apply a climate policy assessment tool designed to assist municipal governments in British Columbia with community energy and emissions planning. The Regional District of Nanaimo was chosen as a case study to assess the likely impacts of municipal climate policies under two scenarios: (1) a politically feasible scenario in which policies were applied at low to moderate settings; and (2) an incremental additions scenario in which policies were applied at increasingly stringent policy settings. Results indicate that the Regional District of Nanaimo can achieve its greatest emissions reductions through land-use densification policies, followed by policies related to the application of a vehicle operating charge. Despite these areas of influence, the extent of emissions reductions possible even under extreme policy settings suggests that municipalities in British Columbia may be constrained in their ability to achieve deep regional emissions reductions in the absence of effective climate policies at the provincial and national levels.