Staff Report: 2014 Climate Action Revenue Incentive Program (CARIP)

Council Report

TO: Mayor & Council FROM: Jeff Chow, MCIP, RPP, Senior Planner DATE: May 14, 2015 MEETING DATE: May 19, 2015 FILE NO: 1855-03-1450 Climate Action Revenue Incentive Program 2014

2014 CLIMATE ACTION REVENUE INCENTIVE PROGRAM (CARIP)

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the May 14, 2015 report from the Senior Planner titled “2014 Climate Action Revenue Incentive Program (CARIP)” be received;

AND THAT carbon offsets be purchased from an accredited provider by June 2, 2015 so that the Town will be officially carbon neutral in operations for the 2014 reporting year.

PURPOSE OF REPORT

• To report on the Town’s 2014 Green House Gas emissions from corporate operations.
• To consider the purchase of carbon offsets so that the Town can be carbon neutral in operations for 2014 reporting year.

BACKGROUND

Climate Action Revenue Incentive Program (CARIP)

The Climate Action Revenue Incentive Program (CARIP) is a conditional grant program that returns one hundred percent of the carbon tax paid for in fuel purchases. To be eligible for the CARIP grant, local governments must:

A. Sign on to the BC Climate Action Charter and by doing so commit to take action and develop strategies to achieve the following three goals:

1. Being carbon neutral in their corporate operations by 2012
2. Measure and report on their community Green House Gas (GHG emission) profile
3. Create complete, compact, energy efficient rural and urban communities

B. Report publicly on their plan and progress towards meeting their climate action goals.

There are 189 local and regional governments in BC and the Town is among 182 that are BC Climate Action Charter signatories. The Town was one of 36 local and regional governments that achieved carbon neutral corporate operations in 2013.

To be carbon neutral in corporate operations means the following:

Where:

• Amount of GHGs generated is the tonnes of GHG produced from the consumption of fossil fuels, e.g. heating buildings, running vehicle fleets.
• Project reductions is the reduction of GHG emissions through:
  • Option 1: Investing in any of four pre-approved UBCM Green Communities Committee (GCC) Supported Projects, which consist of the following:
    1. energy efficient building retrofits / fuel switching
    2. solar hot water
    3. household organic waste composting
    4. low emission vehicles
  • Option 2: Investing in Alternate GCC-supported projects, i.e. creating an independent GHG reduction project that meets GCC eligibility requirements and is verified by an accredited third party.
• Offsets is the offsetting of carbon neutrality through (Option 3) the purchase of carbon offsets from an approved provider.

Note: to calculate GHG emissions, the Town uses a spreadsheet shared by the Capital Regional District and updated each year in accordance with the latest methodology set out by the Province. Other similar sized communities would have to pay for reporting tools that would cost approximately $750 for the first two years followed by an annual service agreement.

DISCUSSION / ANALYSIS

The key issues are:

1. How many tonnes of GHGs were produced by the Town’s corporate operations?
2. How much were GHG emissions reduced by GCC-approved projects?
3. Consideration of options to achieve carbon neutrality
4. Reporting Requirements

1. Corporate Green House Gas Emissions

In 2014, the Town produced 241.1 tonnes of carbon emissions. The 2014 emissions are comprised of 75.5 tonnes from municipal operations and 165.6 tonnes from contracted emissions. The figures in comparison to the previous year are as follows:

The municipal GHG emissions are based on the amount of fossil fuels used in the Town’s facilities, roads, and service operations, including the following:

• Vehicle use
• Traffic signals and street and ornamental lighting
• Building (heating, cooling and lighting)
• Sewer pump stations
• Park irrigation

Contracted emissions are generated by contractors engaged by the Town to provide standard municipal services such as solid and organic waste collection, road and boulevard maintenance, community water, recreation centres, and libraries. GHG emissions for water service have been addressed by the Capital Regional District in their calculations and the City of Victoria accounts for Town's share of the Central Public Library's GHG emissions. If the assistance provided by these two parties (who are consistently carbon neutral) were to end, the Town will have to account for the emissions.

Factors that affect the amount of GHGs emitted each year include the timing and amount of heating fuel purchased; the percentage of electricity that is generated from fossil fuels; distance driven by the vehicle fleet.

2. GHG Project Reductions

The Town's household organic composting program is an eligible GHG-reduction project. The program includes curbside collection and the diversion of yard waste from the landfill though seasonal curbside pickups and the drop-off location in Esquimalt. 222.8 tonnes of GHGs were recovered in 2014 by this program, compared to 219.5 tonnes in 2013. While there was a 10% drop in the volume of kitchen scraps collected, the 2014 figure now includes yard waste from the drop-off facility in Esquimalt, based on conservative estimates of 11.3 kg (25 lbs) per private vehicle driven by a View Royal resident.

3. Achieving Carbon Neutral Operations for 2014

Carbon neutral operations for 2014 could be achieved if Council were to consider purchasing offsets by June 2. Carbon offsets can range in price from $20 – $30 per tonne as follows:

To balance the Town's GHG emissions, 19 tonnes of carbon offsets would have to be purchased. The cost at $20/tonne would be $380 plus tax. While carbon in the atmosphere is a global problem, the Nanaimo Landfill Gas Capture and Utilization project would be a suitable project to support because it is the closest to the Town and would help keep money in the Vancouver Island economy. It should be noted that the Town received $1804 in CARIP grants (carbon tax refunds) for 2014 by meeting BC Climate Action Charter reporting commitments and by working towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions both corporately and in support of the greater View Royal community.

For the 2013 reporting year, the Town purchased 33 tonnes of offsets at a cost of $660 in order to achieve carbon neutral status for corporate operations. If Climate Action Charter commitments were not met, future eligibility for the grant could be in question without continuing demonstrated progress towards carbon neutral operations.

4. Reporting Requirments

To meet provincial requirements for carbon neutral operations for 2014, the following is required by June 2, 2015:

• Purchase 19 tonnes of carbon offsets. The cost at $20/tonne would be $380 plus tax.
• Publication of the 2014 CARIP Carbon Neutral Progress Survey report (Attachment 7) on the Town website.

If Town does not wish to purchase offsets, the survey report would be modified to not include the purchase of offsets and the Town would have "making progress" status for 2014. The Town’s level of recognition from the Provincial-UBCM Green Communities Committee (GCC)’s Climate Action Recognition Program would drop from the highest level “Level 3 - Achievement of Carbon Neutrality” to the middle level “Level 2 – Measurement”.

RECOMMENDATION

THAT the May 14, 2015 report from the Senior Planner titled “2014 Climate Action Revenue Incentive Program (CARIP)” be received;

AND THAT carbon offsets be purchased from an accredited provider by June 2, 2015 so that the Town will be officially carbon neutral in operations for the 2014 reporting year.

SUBMITTED BY: Jeff Chow, MCIP, RPP, Senior Planner

ATTACHMENTS

1. 2014 Town GHG Emissions
2. 2014 Contractor GHG Emissions
3. 2014 Organic Waste Composting figures
4. Gold Standard Portfolio Profile
5. General Portfolio Profile
6. Nanaimo Landfill Gas Capture and Utilization Project Profile
7. 2014 CARIP Carbon Neutral Progress Survey