Back in July this year, the City of Vancouver council was under pressure from Fortis BC and the BC Coalition for Affordable Dependable Energy (a fossil fuel industry lobby group), to reverse the city's policy banning fossil fuel hookups in new buildings. The policy was put in place in 2020, to improve energy efficiency and reduce GHG emissions to meet their reduction targets.

The Vancouver council will be voting on November 26th whether to keep the policy or fall in line with the fossil fuel industry to keep residents locked into using gas for decades to come. This backwards move by the City of Vancouver risks their reputation as climate leaders in BC and risks our future for a clean energy transition. Here's a great interview CBC's Stephen Quinn on the Early Edition, had with Dr. Melissa Lem of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), and Mark Jaccard with the BC Utilities Commission dispelling the disinformation pushed by Fortis et al., underpinning this move.

Since this affects us all, please consider sending the City of Vancouver an email letting them know that rescinding this policy is bad for the planet! Stand.earth has a handy email tool to assist you. If you are not a resident of Vancouver you can edit the letter emphasizing the risk that Vancouver will be seen as regressive, a climate laggard, if they now allow gas in new builds.