Cities Can Benefit Climate - and Save $
By Michael Jessen

In April of last year, Canada’s “new” government released a major study predicting that compliance with the Kyoto Protocol would result in an economic apocalypse.

The Environment Canada analysis revealed the Kyoto greenhouse gas emissions-cutting targets for Canada could only be met by introducing a massive $195-per-tonne carbon tax that would wipe out thousands of jobs and undercut Canadians’ quality of life.

Environment Minister John Baird said every Canadian family and business would have to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by one third starting in eight months. “There is only one way to make that happen - the government would need to manufacture a recession,” Baird told the Senate environment committee.

The only conscientious response to such nonsense is that the study was rigged and Mr. Baird is more than misleading. He is either badly misinformed or lying. (Baird commissioned the study in response to the opposition parties’ passage of Bill C-288 that calls on Canada to ensure it meets its climate change obligations under the Kyoto Protocol.)

Sweden on the other hand has pledged to become fossil fuel free by 2020. In 1970, Sweden got 77% of its energy from oil. By 2003, that figure had fallen to 34% despite a dramatic increase in industrial production. No recession here.

National government timidity in both the United States and Canada has forced cities to take the lead. Their successes fly in the face of both Baird’s comments and the Environment Canada study.

Portland and Multnomah County have reduced per capita GHG emissions by 12.5% since 1990. Their emissions are about the same as they were in 1990, while nationally emissions have increased by about 13%. No economic apocalypse here either.

Portland and the county got there partly by building light rail, enhancing the Portland Streetcar and developing 730 miles of regional bikeways, actions that have resulted in a 75% growth in public transit use since 1990.

The Central Okanagan city of Kelowna is saving more than 3.75 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually through improvements to more than 80 city-owned facilities, resulting in $168,000 energy cost savings per year and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The city also encourages new and retrofitted buildings to take advantage of state-of-the-art energy efficient technology whenever practical.

Since 2005, 527 mayors representing 66 million American city dwellers have accepted the challenge to reduce global warming pollution. The effort is the brainchild of Seattle mayor Greg Nickels who has championed the Seattle Climate Action Plan.

Here is a list of large and small actions that Okanagan, West Kootenay and Boundary cities should consider to reduce greenhouse gas emissions immediately:

1. Encourage shoppers to choose more locally grown food by shopping at local farmers’ markets. A recent World Watch Institute study shows that 17% of global fossil fuel use goes to fertilizing and transporting food.

2. Offer energy efficiency audits to all residents and businesses to encourage weatherization to reduce heating bills. Austin, Texas’ city-owned utility was able to cancel construction of a 550-MW coal-fired power plant as a result of its green building program that also retrofitted schools and installed insulation and shade screens to reduce sunlight in low-income housing.

3. Change local building bylaws so that all new construction utilizes the latest energy efficiency and alternative energy technology. In Melbourne, Australia, the new Council House has reduced CO2 emissions by 87%, electricity consumption by 82%, gas by 87% and water by 72%.

4. Convert all traffic lights to energy efficient light emitting diodes (LEDs) from regular bulbs. Kelowna has achieved a 90% savings in electricity use by replacing signal lights at all intersections with light emitting diodes. It is also using solar powered pedestrian signals. Salt Lake City, Utah will save 454 tonnes of CO2 pollution annually and save $53,000 through its conversion program.

5. Give incentives to citizens to turn in their gas-powered lawnmowers for push or electric-powered models. According to one estimate, gas mowers cause as much as 5% of U.S. air pollution. A typical gas-powered mower emits 36 kilograms of carbon dioxide per year and produces as much pollution in one hour as driving a car 225 kilometres. Seattle Public Utilities this year offered a $25 rebate toward a push or electric mower for residents turning in their gas mower.

6. Introduce a solar ordinance making it compulsory to use solar energy to supply as much hot water as possible in all new (both private and public) buildings, renovated buildings, or buildings changing their use. Barcelona, Spain became the first European city to have a solar ordinance in 2000 and by 2004 had resulted in energy savings of 15.675 megawatts per year and reduced CO2 emissions of 2.756 tonnes per year. More than 35 other Spanish city councils have followed Barcelona’s lead and introduced legislation on solar thermal energy. Barcelona won the ManagEnergy Local Energy Action Award for their commitment to sustainable energy solutions from the European Commission in 2007.

7. Ban the incandescent light bulb in your community well ahead of the federal government’s 2012 ban. Kelowna’s Best Western spent $100,000 replacing the hotel’s interior and exterior incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents and recovered their expense in less than three years through reduced energy costs. Furnishings retailer Ikea has just announced it will give all of its 9,600 employees in the U.K. a six-pack of compact fluorescent light bulbs as part of its goal to green its workforce.

Canada’s “new” federal government has offered no innovative ideas through its recently released green plan. In fact, it is being sued by the environmental group Friends of the Earth that alleges in a lawsuit that by failing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions sufficiently, the government is violating Canadian law.

Canadian municipalities should look elsewhere for role models and fresh ideas.

RESOURCES - Case studies of worldwide successes in reducing greenhouse gases in cities can be found on the C40 Climate Summit web site.

Resources for local governments can be found on this Seattle Climate Action Plan web page.

A one-day conference entitled Implementing Sustainable Cities: Planning for Climate Change will be held in London, England on July 4.

A workshop hosted by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) and the city of Fayetteville, Arkansas from July 10 to 13 will share strategies on realizing economic benefits through climate protection actions. It is entitled Saving Energy & Saving Money: The Economic Benefits of Local Climate Action.

The ICLEI has launched a software tool to support local greenhouse gas and air pollution emissions reduction planning. HEAT - the Harmonized Emissions Analysis Tool was developed to provide capacity to local governments who seek to reduce GHG emissions based on sound governance, economic development, improved waste management, energy efficiency, better urban mobility, and better air quality.

Michael Jessen is a BC based environmental writer and consultant. He can be reached by telephone at 250-229-5632 or by e-mail at zerowaste@shaw.ca.