Community Energy and Emissions Plan (CEEP)

December 2, 2019 — Approved by Council

The final CEEP report was presented to Council, who voted unanimously to approve it. You can view the staff report and presentation to Council in the 'Documents and related web content' tab.

October 28, 2019 — Final draft presented to Council 

Staff presented the final draft of the CEEP report to Council in a workshop, with the recommendation that it be forwarded to a regular meeting to consider adopting it. You can view the staff report and presentation to Council in the 'Documents and related web content' tab.

March 11, 2019 — Draft report presented to Council

Staff presented the draft CEEP report to Council for discussion. You can view the draft report in the 'Documents and related web content' tab.

January 21, 2019 — Update to Council

Staff gave Council an update on progress with the CEEP, which included a summary of public engagement undertaken in phase 4, and key action areas included in the draft plan. You can review the staff report to Council, as well as the phase 4 engagement summary, in the 'Documents and related web content' tab.

September 27 to October 19, 2018 — Online survey on draft actions

We conducted an online survey to gather feedback on the draft Climate Energy and Emissions Plan (CEEP), which contains a number of actions that will guide long-term planning as we work to reduce carbon emissions in the District.

July 27, 2018 — Reporting back on what we've heard

During February, 2018, we met with key stakeholders and local residents to discuss the plan, and generate ideas for actions we can take to meet our objective of reducing carbon emissions and becoming a more energy efficient community.

Download the CEEP Stakeholder & Public Engagement Summary

March 26 to 30 — Sustainability on Screen: Video Production Bootcamp

​Sustainability On Screen was a free one-week filmmaking program for District youth aged 14 to 19, aimed at producing videos centred on the theme of climate action.

Here are two videos produced during the bootcamp.

February 15, 2018 — An evening of conversation and ideas

We hosted an evening of conversation and ideas on reducing our contribution to climate change and becoming a more energy efficient community. Ideas generated will help inform the (CEEP).

January 22, 2018 — Information report to Council on CEEP project

Staff met with Council to update them on the proposed CEEP project phases and engagement plan. You can view the staff report to Council in the 'documents and related web content' tab.

November 2017 — Interdepartmental steering committee established

Staff involvement will help integrate community energy and emissions reduction strategies into municipal programs and decisions. Significant actions may require input, innovation, collaboration, and action by senior levels of government, businesses, and residents.  

October 19, 2017 — Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) funding awarded

FCM’s Municipalities for Climate Innovation Program (MCIP) is a five-year, $75-million program designed to encourage Canadian municipalities to better prepare for and adapt to the new realities of climate change, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

May/June 2017 — Funding partnerships with BC Hydro and Vancouver Coastal Health

BC Hydro and Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) have provided additional funding to support the CEEP project. These partnerships will add value by helping to advance energy efficient solutions and by facilitating a unique community health lens

The steps we followed to create our plan

The CEEP work plan involved four key phases:

Why we developed a community energy and emissions plan

Events linked to climate change — severe windstorms, drought, extreme rainfall, flooding, sea level rise — threaten our environment, social well-being, community health, and economic resiliency.

Because greenhouse gas emissions from our buildings and transportation are major contributors to climate change, we have an important role to play in helping to curb our emissions.

The CEEP is important because the decisions we make today — about where we live, how we move around, how we source our energy — will still be impacting our community decades from now.

Becoming an energy efficient community

The Community Energy and Emissions Plan will help us manage our community's contribution to climate change by reducing our carbon emissions. In doing so, it will also help us reach our Official Community Plan goal of becoming an energy efficient community.

Additional benefits in taking action now

Besides lowering our emissions, climate action will help address other important community needs:

• Clean air and community health — Reducing emissions will improve outdoor and indoor air quality
• Housing affordability — Designing energy efficient buildings will reduce costs to heat and power our homes
• Improved transportation — Creating more opportunities for walking and cycling will help ease traffic congestion
• Improve job opportunities — Advancing emissions reduction and renewable energy technologies can attract business investment and jobs in this growing industry

Where our emissions come from

Before we can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, we need to understand where they come from. Our emissions originate from a variety of sources.

How we can reduce our emissions

The CEEP will provide a roadmap to guide long-term planning and action to curb community emissions in these areas:

As we create the CEEP, we will look for ways to help advance our other goals of improving our community’s overall well-being and economic security.

How the CEEP relates to other municipal plans and programs

Developing an effective strategy to address climate change requires:

• Mitigation — Preventing future climate change from happening by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions
• Adaptation — Becoming more resilient by preparing and responding to climate change

The Community Energy and Emissions Plan (CEEP) is a plan for mitigation.

The CEEP will complement both our Strategic Energy Management Plan (Corporate emissions mitigation plan) and Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, forming a comprehensive climate action strategy that is supported by key municipal plans and programs.

Recent municipal plans and programs

• Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, approved by District Council July 24, 2017
• BC Energy Step Code, enacted April, 2017
• Strategic Energy and Emissions Plan, 2015
• Official Community Plan (OCP), adopted in 2011 (includes emissions reductions target and climate action policies)

Plans and programs prior to 2010

• Community Climate Change Foundations report, 2009
• BC Building Code Update with upgraded energy efficiency standards, 2008
• Province of BC's Greenhouse Gas Reductions Target Act and Green Communities Act (Bill 27), 2007
• BC Climate Action Charter, 2007
• Provincial Community Energy and Emissions Inventory (CEEI), released 2007
• Provincial Gov’t Greenhouse Gas Reductions Target Act and Green Communities Act (Bill 27), 2007
• District joined the Partners for Climate Protection Program, 2001

Project documents

Final CEEP plan approved by Council

CEEP Phase 4 Engagement Summary

CEEP Stakeholder and Public Engagement Summary

Council materials

December 2, 2019 — Council approval

• Staff report to Council (includes final CEEP report) (PDF; 16.8MB)
• Staff presentation to Council  (PDF; .7MB)

October 28, 2019 — Final draft to Council

• Staff report to Council
• Staff presentation to Council 

March 11, 2019 — Draft report to Council

Staff report with draft CEEP, starts on page 7 (PDF; 19.98MB)

January 15, 2019 — Update to Council

Staff report to Council, starts on page 127 (PDF; 18.4MB)

January 22, 2018 — Update to Council

Staff presentation to Council, starts on page 109 (PDF; 16.7MB)

Related plans and strategies

Climate Change Adaptation Strategy
Strategic Energy Management Plan
Climate Action Revenue Incentive Program (CARIP)
BC Energy Step Code requirements