Review of the BC EMA Part 6: Clean Air Provisions Sam Wohlgemuth Tim Thomson Dalton McNaught Kyle Jang Supervisor: Dr. Mehdi Bagheri Environmental Policy (CIVE 315) University of Victoria Department of Civil Engineering

Table of Contents 1 – What do Clean Air Provisions Cover? 2 – Emission Regulations 3 – Solid Fuel Burning Regulations 4 – Waste Management Facilities Regulations 5 – How BC is Reducing Their Carbon Emissions 6 – Evolution of BC’s Carbon Emission Reduction 7 – Conclusion

What do Clean Air Provisions Cover? The Clean Air Provisions (CAP) section of the BC Environmental Management Act (EMA) covers the control of air contaminants. To control air contaminants, regulations on fuel emissions, motor vehicle and engine emissions, and solid fuel burning can be imposed. It should be noted that the CAP does not list specific regulations. Rather, it grants the authority to the Lieutenant Governor in Council (LGC) to impose regulations. The CAP does not cover use of fuels or personal maintenance of engines and appliances. The CAP only gives the LGC the authority to impose regulations for the standards for fuel specifications, as well as the emission control systems fitted to engines and domestic solid fuel burning appliances. The CAP also covers the management of emissions from waste management facilities. Management of emissions may include recovery of energy potential from greenhouse gases.

Emission Regulations Fuel Emissions The CAP grants the LGC to impose regulations for standards, classification, and specifications of fuels, as well as denoting the areas in BC to which such regulations apply. The LGC may also impose regulations regarding the submission of specified information for manufacturing, certification, and sale of fuels. Motor Vehicle and Engine Emission Regulations The LGC has the authority to impose regulations requiring motor vehicle engines to include one or more emission control systems, and for those engines to meet to meet prescribed standards or specifications. There may also be regulations imposed for the maintenance specifications for the emission controls as well as prohibiting the sale of a motor vehicle which does not include an emission control warranty provided by the manufacturer.

Solid Fuel Burning Regulations Domestic Appliances The LGC may impose regulations regarding the availability and sale of solid fuel for domestic applications for the purpose of lowering emissions. The LGC may also impose regulations regarding the specifications of solid fuel to be burned, such as requiring there be no petroleum materials (such as glue) burnt. The LGC may also require standards and specifications, such as efficiency, for the appliance in which the fuel is used. Burning The LGC may impose regulations regarding the conditions necessary for burning material derived from land clearing, land grading, or tilling.

Waste Management Facilities Regulations The LGC may prescribe actions pertaining to management or reduction of greenhouses gases they specify, and the LGC may impose regulations regarding the recovery of energy potential from said specified greenhouse gases. With waste management, the reporting of GHGs are imperative, and the LGC may impose monitoring and reporting requirements associated with: Specified GHGs Recovery of GHG potential energy Handling, treating, and transporting of recovered GHG potential energy Storing or discharge or recovered GHG potential energy Record keeping of pertinent information regarding GHGs and GHG energy recovery

How BC is Reducing Their Carbon Emissions Since 2007, the BC government has been pushing for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions across the province. In fact, they are looking to lower the greenhouse gas emissions by 33% below 2007 levels by 2020, and 80% below 2007 levels by 2050. These targets are based on targeting a broad scope of emission types across the province based on provincial-level sources and data collected from Environment Canada. http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/climate-change/policy-legislation-and-responses/2014-progress-to-targets.pdf

How BC is Reducing Their Carbon Emissions The policies put in place have already generated results across a range of sectors. Some of these results include improved forest management through the Great Bear Rainforest Initiative. This initiative reduces emissions and increases carbon sequestration by implementing and creating protected forest areas that would have previously been open to harvesting from logging companies. In addition, the areas that are still available for harvest now have forest cover constraints which will help in the sequestration of emissions. According to the BC government, “British Columbia’s extensive forests provide opportunities to reduce, through improved forest practices, the greenhouse gases owing to the atmosphere. This is one of the most substantial options available in this province to mitigate climate change, while improving the quality of our forests and providing economic opportunity to forest- dependent communities.” http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/climate-change/policy-legislation-and-responses/2014-progress-to-targets.pdf

How BC is Reducing Their Carbon Emissions Some other initiative in place throughout the province include: Replacing diesel trucks with CNG & LNG heavy duty vehicles which produce 20% fewer greenhouse gases Clean energy vehicle program (offering incentives to purchase electric vehicles) & nearly 1000 electric charging station installed across the province The LiveSmart home energy retrofit program (which can save users up to 30% on their energy bill) Increasing access to organic waste diversion programs across the province Funding of alternative energy projects

How BC is Reducing Their Carbon Emissions With regards to energy use within the BC provincial government themselves, the BC government has introduced several action plans in order to significantly reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. These actions involve the BC Buildings Corporation (BCBC) conducting audits and retrofits to existing provincial buildings under the renewed energy management initiative. In addition, a higher performance building policy has been introduced for all new provincially funded buildings. With regards to transportation, the BC government has introduced guidelines and performance targets for ministries and Crown agencies to acquire cleaner vehicles, cleaner fuels, and invest in alternative transportation to reduce emissions.

Evolution of BC’s Carbon Emission Reduction Until 2007, there had only been minor changes within the BC government’s structure to help deal with with greenhouse gas emissions emitted in the province. In 2007, teamed with the lowering costs of clean energy and the changing views of BCs population, the BC Liberals overhauled the climate action of the province and began to seriously reduce the emissions of the province. The BC Carbon Tax The “shining light” of this emission reduction plan was the implementation of the famous BC Carbon Tax which was seen as a major step forward in carbon and emission management. The Carbon tax was the most wide reaching carbon tax in the world, and even won BC the UN’s “Momentum for Change Award” as an international climate leader.

Evolution of BC’s Carbon Emission Reduction Carbon Neutral Government Another popular change introduced was the Carbon Neutrality of the provincial government. The idea that a provincial government would be carbon neutral was very well received globally and proved that BC was serious about climate change. The carbon neutral system does not mean a zero emission government, rather the government pays a certain amount of each tonne of CO2e they emit. This ”payout” is meant to promote emitting less, as all emissions come at a literal cost. Emissions have been reduced by limiting business travel, using less energy in buildings and changing transportation strategies to limit emissions by vehicles. A large change was committing to a zero idle fleet of vehicles. This means that all provincial and municipal vehicles will no longer sit at idle at their destinations. Vehicles will be turned off to save fuel.

Conclusion In more recent years, BC has been a leader in emission reductions, and while there is still a long way to go in reducing the emissions of the province, the BC EMA sets forth a large array of powers for the LGC to make decisions on regulations for reducing the emissions of the province. The initiatives in place by the BC government are also important for BC’s emission future. The Great Bear Rainforest Initiative is very important for protecting BC’s forest, and the carbon neutral government as well as the BC Carbon Tax is an excellent stepping stone to lower BC’s overall greenhouse emissions in the future.