December 2023

As another year ends, we would like to highlight recent progress towards our climate action target of a 50% reduction in carbon pollution by 2030.
 
Key achievements of 2023 include:

• Resilient retrofit pilots: Demonstrating the feasibility and benefits of resilient retrofitting, two pilot programs were launched in collaboration with partners to partially electrify up to 20 buildings in each pilot, focusing on providing tenants with cooling, improved air quality, and healthier and more comfortable non-profit housing and rental apartments.
• Active mobility plan: Creating the active mobility plan to guide the City’s investment in infrastructure and support safer and more comfortable options for walking, cycling and rolling to align with the City's active mobility targets.
• Missing middle: Adding multiplex housing to low-density areas to provide more housing choices across Vancouver, while enabling more residents to live closer to amenities, services and work.
• Parking minimums: Eliminating minimum parking requirements in new developments in the West End and Broadway Plan area, this policy reduces carbon emissions from concrete underground parking while decreasing costs for new projects, potentially leading to more affordable housing options.
• Leading by example: Reducing carbon pollution with innovative building design and electrifying our fleet is the focus of our green operations plan. As part of this work, Vancouver opened Canada’s first zero-carbon Passive House firehall and deployed Canada’s first electric fire engine.

New this year is our 2024 Climate Budget report, which was presented to Council on December 5 and unanimously approved on December 12. The Climate Budget is a decision-making tool to help prioritize the most impactful climate mitigation and adaptation projects for the City’s limited resources.
 
YOUR TURN
 
View the Climate Budget Council report and presentation.
 
On January 24, tune in as the Climate Emergency Action Plan annual report is presented to Council.
 
SUPPORTING: CLIMATE EMERGENCY, ADAPTATION

When rain falls on hard urban surfaces like roofs and streets, it picks up pollutants and transports them into pipes and streams flowing into waterways surrounding Vancouver - like səlilwət (Burrard Inlet). This toxic rainwater runoff harms wildlife, economic activities, our ability to swim and Indigenous practices.

City staff are proud to partner with səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) on Restoring a Healthy Inlet, an interactive StoryMap that walks users through the history of the Inlet, shows sources of pollution and their impacts and offers actions that can be taken to reduce pollution from runoff and protect the Inlet.

Maintaining healthy and protected shorelines and streams supports our Climate Change Adaptation Strategy by helping to reduce the impacts of increased rain events and sea level rise.

This work also supports the City’s Healthy Waters Plan, a long-range sewage and rainwater management plan aimed at improving water quality in Vancouver’s receiving waters, which səlilwətaɬ are partners. The Healthy Waters Plan and this story map support defined reconciliation priorities under the City’s UNDRIP action plan, including restoring access to clean marine water and healthy food systems.

YOUR TURN

Visit the StoryMap to learn more about ways you can protect səlilwət, including:

• Using eco-friendly household products
• Disposing of hazardous waste properly
• Minimizing fertilizer use
• Picking up pet waste

SUPPORTING: HEALTHY WATERS PLAN, ADAPTATION

Have you seen large ruler-like instruments mounted in various locations along Vancouver’s shoreline?
 
These newly installed instruments, also known as staff gauges, allow staff to measure coastal water levels. This provides useful readings during the winter when seasonal high tides, sometimes called King Tides, combine with storm surges to produce the highest coastal water levels of the year.
 
As sea levels rise due to climate change, the higher coastal water levels we experience a few days per year during the storm season will occur much more frequently. How our shorelines look during these storm events provides insight to how they may look more regularly in the future.
 
Through our Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, the City is preparing for sea level rise and other climate impacts to ensure a vibrant, livable and resilient future.
 
YOUR TURN
 
Keep your eyes peeled for these staff gauges. Can you find both of the new gauges?
 
Grab your camera during this winter’s King Tides between December 14 -19 and January 12 -17 and help us track how our shoreline is changing by submitting your photos of the shoreline to sealevelrise@vancouver.ca.
 
Read more about how Vancouver is preparing for sea level rise here.
 
SUPPORTING: ADAPTATION

This holiday season we may find ourselves at gatherings where opinions on climate change differ. These conversations can be challenging but are also a great way to practice respectful dialogue on important issues. A recent Climate Access webinar on Navigating Tricky Thanksgiving Climate Conversations provides some helpful tips for your own conversations this season.

• Avoid entering conversations with the intent to change minds – start by listening first and asking questions about their opinion. Learning what information or misinformation people have been exposed to can help us understand their values and where their thoughts and feelings come from.
• Bring your experiences to the conversation – talking about the impact of climate change using your own experiences makes it easier for others to relate and find common ground.
• Keep it local – because climate change is often perceived as something far away, focusing on local climate events is more salient and helps people understand why they should care.

YOUR TURN
 
Visit Climate Access for more resources.
 
Want to practice having productive conversations about climate change? David Suzuki Foundation has a simple chatbot called CliMate that allows you to run guided practice conversations and insights on the reaction your responses might elicit.

Watch Dr. Katharine Hayhoe explain her tips for talking to people who do not believe in climate change.
 
SUPPORTING: CLIMATE EMERGENCY