Executive summary
- This report advances the Climate Emergency Action Plan by granting the BCNPHA funds for a Non-Market Housing Climate Resilient Retrofit Program, in support of the Council approved Climate Emergency Action Plan (CEAP) Big Move 4 target to cut carbon pollution from building operations in half from 2007 levels by 2030.
- CEAP Big Move 4 recommended a number of carbon reduction actions, including supports for voluntary energy retrofits in multi-family buildings. Multi-family buildings owned and operated by non-profit agencies are homes to some of Vancouver’s most vulnerable individuals and households, who may also be disproportionately more impacted by climate change.
- In November 2019, Council approved a $1.5 million grant to fund the Energy Retrofit PLUS Rental Reinvestment Pilot with a matching contribution from the Province’s CleanBC program to fund and support zero emission retrofit projects in market rental buildings. Following COVID delays that program is now set to launch this summer. Staff are now recommending Council approve a $2 million grant from the Multi-Year Capital Program Budget for Deep Emission Building Retrofits to fund the Non-Market Housing Climate Resilient Retrofit Program.
- This grant will help to replace aging gas heating and domestic hot water systems with new electric heat pumps that will significantly reduce GHG emissions, increase resiliency by introducing cooling, and improve the ability of non-market housing buildings to implement, operate and maintain this low carbon equipment. By aiming to fill identified gaps in the current non-market housing retrofit supports, this grant will also inform future improvements to the CleanBC provincial program.
Climate implications
- This grant program supports Climate Emergency Big Move 4: zero emissions space and water heating. The $2 million in funding will result in approximately 20 deep emission retrofit projects, with an emphasis on projects that also can provide cooling. A total of 750 tonnes/year of GHGs is estimated to be reduced with this work.
- The operator training, provided to all interested Vancouver non-market housing operators, will increase the sector’s capacity to operate and maintain heat pump technologies resulting in better energy performance, lower energy costs and lower carbon pollution in all buildings undertaking an electric heat pump retrofit, not only those receiving retrofit incentives via this Program.
- The Program will be specifically designed to fill the gaps in the current CleanBC non-market housing retrofit incentives so as to inform future changes to that program to more effectively accelerate deep emissions reductions province-wide while also supporting the introduction of cooling measures.