Seven years out: working to reduce BC’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2030

You’ve probably heard we need to stop burning fossil fuels. Burning them releases gases like carbon dioxide and methane, which heat up our atmosphere and cause climate change.

These gases are known as greenhouse gases because they act like the glass walls of a greenhouse that let light pass through but trap heat inside.

As the planet warms, more dangerous storms, floods, and droughts are happening more often around the world. Burning fossil fuels also releases poisons into the air which can make people and wildlife sick.   

Over one hundred countries, including Canada, have committed to net-zero emissions by 2050. Net-zero emissions means reducing the amount of greenhouse gases put into the air until they equal the amount being removed by trees and the ocean. This way, the total amount of greenhouse gases in the air doesn’t go up.

To ensure we’re on the right track, Canada has pledged to cut greenhouse gases 40% below 2005 levels by 2030.

That’s only seven years away. What’s happening in BC to support this goal?

In BC

There are many ways to make energy that don’t burn fossil fuels. These energy sources are called “renewable,” because they have an unlimited supply, like the wind, sun and moving water.

Wind turbines use the wind to spin their blades, turning a generator that makes electricity. Similarly, to produce hydroelectricity, generators convert the kinetic energy produced by water flowing through a dam. Solar panels use chips called photovoltaic cells to capture the sun’s energy, almost like how plants use the sun to grow. Most importantly, turbines and solar panels don’t make any greenhouse gases, so they’re called clean energy.

Through a program called CleanBC, BC helps people install their own solar panels in their homes, provides rebates for electric cars, and investing carbon taxes in greenhouse gas-reducing projects, such as BC Hydro's electrification plan.

Recent scientific findings indicate that the use of liquefied natural gas presents challenges to BC meeting its climate goals.

In Vancouver

You may have also heard about electric cars, and how they can help stop climate change. But in reality, trains and buses are a much cleaner way to get around, and cost people a lot less money to use.

Right now, Vancouver is extending one of their Skytrain lines and has many more projects planned. They’re even working on a public gondola cable-car system that will take people up and down Burnaby Mountain, helping thousands of university students get to school quicker. More public transit means we can rely less on fossil fuels like gas to get to work, school, or the park.

But the cleanest way to get around is using your own two feet! Many cities in BC are making their streets friendlier to people walking and biking. This includes widening sidewalks, closing some streets to cars, building bike lanes, and putting buildings closer together. Walking and biking are also great exercise!

While it might seem that we need to invent new ways of getting around to fight climate change, many of our most powerful tools already exist, which means we can use them right now.

In our home

We can also heat and cool our homes in cleaner ways. Furnaces and air-conditioners release greenhouse gases into the air when they run. BC is helping people replace their polluting heaters and air conditioners with clean heat pumps, which use new technology to heat and cool a home without releasing greenhouse gases.

A heat pump can be thought of as a reverse air conditioner that can both heat and cool a space. In the summer, it works like an air conditioner by extracting heat from indoor air and moving it outside. In the winter, it reverses the process by extracting heat from outdoor air, ground, or water and moving it inside. It uses less electricity than other heating methods, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fighting climate change.