{"id":65445,"date":"2024-11-28T10:14:31","date_gmt":"2024-11-28T18:14:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/energi.media\/?p=65445"},"modified":"2024-11-28T10:14:31","modified_gmt":"2024-11-28T18:14:31","slug":"vancouver-votes-to-reinstate-gas-ban-for-new-developments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/energi.media\/news\/vancouver-votes-to-reinstate-gas-ban-for-new-developments\/","title":{"rendered":"Vancouver votes to reinstate gas ban for new developments"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article was published by The Energy Mix<\/a> on Nov. 28, 2024.<\/em><\/p>\n

By Tova Gaster and The Energy Mix staff<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Vancouver City Council voted Wednesday night to reinstate a ban on natural gas in new buildings, reversing a decision it made in July.<\/p>\n

After two days of deliberations and input from over 140 local residents, council members voted in favour of banning gas for space and water heating entirely, rather than allowing it with stricter energy efficiency requirements. The main motion, which took the form of a proposal to reverse the city\u2019s 2020 ban on gas in new construction, was defeated on a tie vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe nays have it\u2014[Councillor Brian] Montague\u2019s July amendment-inspired recommendation to reintroduce gas for space and hot water heating in new construction in Vancouver FAILS,\u201d Councillor Pete Fry enthused on social media. The official record shows the measure failing on a 5-5 vote, with Councillors Rebecca Bligh, Adriane Carr, Lisa Dominato, and Peter Meiszner joining Fry in opposition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis decision is about so much more than protecting the health of Vancouverites; it is about respecting the significant body of science, health, and sustainability studies demonstrating that continuing to tie in new buildings to gas is a dangerous path,\u201d Dr. Melissa Lem, president of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment,\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0in a release. \u201cWith this decision, Vancouver has demonstrated that it cares about its residents\u2019 health, and that mitigating carbon and air pollution take priority over the short-term interests of a sunsetting industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is great news for Vancouver,\u201d\u00a0wrote<\/a>\u00a0public engagement veteran Shauna Sylvester, founder and lead convenor of Urban Climate Leadership, on LinkedIn. Sylvester extended thanks to councillors who \u201cdemonstrated leadership and voted in favour of climate action, and to the professional staff of the City of Vancouver who provided evidence-based information to support Council\u2019s decision-making process.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFriends! Mobilization works!\u201d\u00a0wrote<\/a>\u00a0Climate Emergency Unit Team Lead Seth Klein. \u201cThe gas industry did all it could to bring fossil fuel heating back for new homes. Tonight, they failed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier in the day, and into the early evening, Council heard over eight hours of public comment, all responding to the controversial bylaw vote to reinstate gas access for heating in new buildings. Originally scheduled for the previous day, the vote was deferred to accommodate the input of 142 speakers, including environmental advocates, restaurateurs, construction industry leaders and other interest groups.<\/p>\n

The majority of speakers in opposition to reinstating gas emphasized its climate and public health impacts, while pro-gas advocates\u2014including Montague and Mayor Ken Sim\u2014raised concerns about the impacts of electrification on the BC Hydro grid.<\/p>\n

Still Cooking With Gas<\/h2>\n

When city councillors\u00a0voted<\/a>\u00a0to overturn the bylaw in July, they did so with vocal support from some in the restaurant industry who wanted to maintain access to gas for cooking.\u00a0But the bylaw only affects space heating, with gas stoves for restaurants still allowed, city staff emphasized.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have no plans to ban gas for cooking,\u201d a city staff member said Tuesday. \u201cSpace heating and hot water are the biggest sources of emissions in buildings, and we know that natural gas has cultural significance for cooking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Children\u2019s Signs Removed<\/h2>\n

During the public comment session Tuesday, Fry and Carr both decorated their desks with signs by children in favour of banning gas, organized for For Our Kids Vancouver, a sustainability-oriented group of families.<\/p>\n

Montague asked that they take down the signs, suggesting they could be \u201cintimidating to speakers.\u201d While Dominato questioned the decision, asking if she was correct in her assumption that the signs were \u201cmade by children,\u201d Sim upheld the request, asking Fry and Carr to remove the signs.<\/p>\n

Several of the speakers who addressed council on Wednesday emphasized the public health risks of gas, which pollutes indoor air when it\u2019s burned for heating, as well as outdoor air quality via the broader impacts of climate change.<\/p>\n

\u201cClimate change has impacted all of society, and some groups have been impacted more from these harms, including children, older adults, people with disabilities, and people who are socially isolated,\u201d said Dr. Michael Schwandt, a researcher specializing in air quality and climate change.<\/p>\n

City Proposes Two Paths For Developers<\/h2>\n

On Tuesday, council heard proposals from city staff about the implications of the reversal while outside City Hall, advocates for the gas ban, including members of Women Transforming Cities, For Our Kids Vancouver, and Dogwood BC, rallied with banners and drums to oppose the bylaw change.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s put gas in the past, heat pumps for all!\u201d attendees chanted.<\/p>\n

City staff\u00a0presented<\/a>\u00a0[pdf<\/em>] a report following from the council\u2019s July vote to reinstate gas for new buildings. They proposed offering developers two paths: Path 1 does not include gas, building to the highest level of the British Columbia Zero Carbon Step Code (ZCSC), while Path 2 allows gas for heating and hot water, but prioritizes energy efficiency through building envelope requirements.<\/p>\n

\u201cPath 1 offers the best outcome for climate, while Path 2 will increase annual carbon pollution,\u201d said Patrick Enright, who leads the city\u2019s small, existing and new developments team.<\/p>\n

If all new developments took Path 1, it would decrease Vancouver\u2019s carbon footprint by 15,900 tonnes per year by 2035, estimates the report. If all developments took Path 2, the annual footprint would grow by 65,100 tonnesby 2035\u2014equivalent to putting 16,000 more cars on the road, Enright said. City staff predicted developers would pursue a mixture of Path 1 and 2, or gas and no gas.<\/p>\n

Montague had raised concerns in July that the gas ban increased costs for builders. But city staff emphasized that neither path will reduce costs, speed up permits, or improve heating.<\/p>\n

They added that engagement with the construction industry found that many have concerns that reinstating gas could jeopardize Vancouver\u2019s regional reputation as a sustainable buildings leader. Others advocated for builders to maintain options about their energy path.<\/p>\n

The second path \u201cseems like a step backward on climate and doesn\u2019t save money,\u201d Fry said after the presentation.<\/p>\n

Sim had cast the tie-breaking vote in July, when council\u00a0voted<\/a>\u00a06-5 to rescind the 2020 city bylaw banning gas hookups in new low-rise buildings by 2025. The reversal followed \u201cbehind-the-scenes\u201d discussions involving senior city officials with industry ties,\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0Postmedia, raising transparency and potential conflicts of interest concerns.<\/p>\n

A coalition of\u00a0construction industry leaders<\/a>, environmental advocates,\u00a0small businesses<\/a>, and\u00a0medical professionals<\/a>\u00a0opposed the walkback of one of the city\u2019s flagship climate policies. Advocates for the transition off gas say the reversal is a step backward from other Canadian jurisdictions like Quebec, which recently\u00a0banned<\/a>\u00a0new gas heating in buildings by 2040.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we know we need to decarbonize society, why would we keep adding to the problem by building new buildings that we have to decarbonize later?\u201d asked Paige Gorsak, an organizing manager at Dogwood BC.<\/p>\n

Gas Warms the Atmosphere, Pollutes Homes<\/h2>\n

Gas in buildings\u00a0harms<\/a>\u00a0health and reduces air quality. Electric heating systems, such as heat pumps, are also equivalent in cost, on average, according to research from the\u00a0Pembina Institute<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Clean Energy Canada<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not only a climate issue, but a health and cost of living issue,\u201d Sunil Singal, a campaigner at Stand.earth, told a Dogwood event held to organize against rescinding the gas ban.<\/p>\n

Research suggests natural gas is just as harmful as other fossil fuels, if not worse. A new study\u00a0finds<\/a>\u00a0that the greenhouse gas footprint of liquefied natural gas (LNG) can be up to 33% greater than that for coal.<\/p>\n

While natural gas releases less climate pollution when it\u2019s burned,\u00a0fugitive methane<\/a>\u00a0leaks in gas extraction and transportation pack a huge atmospheric warming punch that 2023 research\u00a0suggests<\/a>\u00a0is worse than previously thought.<\/p>\n

Buildings are also often the biggest source of carbon emissions in cities like\u00a0Toronto<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Vancouver<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lobbyists Turn Up The Heat, Local Businesses Respond<\/h2>\n

According to Dogwood BC\u2019s Gorsak, rescinding the natural gas ban would make Vancouver the first city to reintroduce a known pollutant into homes.<\/p>\n

But a Postmedia investigation found that the vote could be good business for Mayor Ken Sim\u2019s senior advisor, who owns two private natural gas companies.<\/p>\n

In an\u00a0interview<\/a>\u00a0with CBC, Montague attributed his support for the rollback to homebuilder choice, and reducing red tape to make increasing housing supply cheaper.<\/p>\n

According to construction industry leaders, however, emissions requirements and heat pumps aren\u2019t the culprit for expensive housing.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnergy and emissions requirements are not significant drivers of new housing costs; many other factors affect project costs and timelines,\u201d said Mark Bernhardt, CEO of Bernhardt Contracting and president of the Canadian Home Builders\u2019 Association of BC, in a release issued by Vancouver\u2019s Zero Emissions Innovation Centre (ZEIC).<\/p>\n

Rather, policy uncertainty\u2014such as the ban reversal\u2014increases costs for homebuilders.<\/p>\n

Bernhardt is one of hundreds of homebuilders and small business owners who\u00a0signed<\/a>\u00a0a letter in October calling on Vancouver to restore its gas ban. Dozens of construction industry leaders\u00a0sent<\/a>\u00a0a similar letter.<\/p>\n

\u201cBurning fossil fuel in homes is like smoking\u2014once considered normal, now clearly harmful to our health,\u201d Chris Hill, Principal of B Collective Homes, said in the ZEIC release. \u201cFor the last over five years, we\u2019ve built homes entirely free of gas or fossil fuels, demonstrating that electrification is not only possible but scalable. With thoughtful design and minimal effort, we can lead the way to healthier, all-electric homes that benefit both people and the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s Note: This story was updated on Wednesday, November 27 with quotes from speakers who addressed City Council, then with the final vote.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article was published by The Energy Mix on Nov. 28, 2024. 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