Policy makers or policy takers: How can cities contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions?

This study explores the implementation of community energy policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. There are two components to this study. The first is a modeling exercise which uses an energy-economy model to evaluate policies in terms of their greenhouse gas emissions reductions for the city of Victoria, British Columbia. While there is significant potential for Victoria to reduce emissions and fossil fuel use in some sectors, additional policy from the federal and provincial government will be needed to drive deep emissions reductions and fuel switching. The second component is a survey directed at community energy practitioners in Canada. It explores the use of tools such as the model used in this study to help inform the implementation of community energy policy. The preliminary findings suggest that while policy makers are open to the use of analytical tools for policy evaluation, significant barriers to executing these analyses and implementing their recommendations exist at the local level.