Corporate and Community Update for Greenhouse Gas Emissions ...

City of Prince George
ENERGY AND GREENHOUSE GAS MANAGEMENT
PCP Milestone 4 and 5 Report
2 Introduction
2.1 Background
The PCP program is a network of Canadian local governments (LGs) that have committed to reducing
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and acting on climate change. PCP is the Canadian component of
International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives’ (ICLEI) Cities for Climate Protection
network, involving more than 900 communities worldwide. PCP is a partnership between the
Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. It is
based on a five-milestone framework used to guide municipalities to reduce GHG emissions:
1. Creating a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and forecast;
2. Setting an emissions reductions target;
3. Developing a local action plan;
4. Implementing the local action plan or a set of activities; and
5. Monitoring progress and reporting results.
The City of Prince George signed on to the PCP program in July 2002. In 2005, the City achieved the
first milestones of the PCP program in both Corporate and Community actions, through the
development of a GHG emission baseline, using 2002 data that was available at the time. In 2007, the
City set a corporate emission reduction target of 10% from 2002 levels by 2012 and a community
emission reduction target of 2% from 2002 levels by 2012. The City also prepared its Energy and
Greenhouse Gas Management Plan (Energy Plan) to achieve Milestones 2 and 3.
The City of Prince George took an early commitment to taking action on climate change by
voluntarily enrolling in the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Partners for Climate
Protection (PCP) program in July 2002. In 2005, the City had completed a baseline energy and
greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventory for both its Corporate operations and for the Community
as a whole, achieving the first milestones of the PCP program in for both Corporate and Community
actions. In 2007, the City Council endorsed an Energy and Greenhouse Gas Management Plan
(EGHGMP) that set GHG emission reduction targets and identified several initiatives and actions for
achieving those targets in both corporate operations and for the community as a whole. Setting GHG
reduction targets and developing the EGHGMP enabled Prince George to achieve Milestones 2 and 3
of the 5-milestone PCP program in both the Corporate and the Community streams.
Since 2007, the City has engaged in numerous activities in both its corporate operations and in the
broader community to help achieve a reduction in GHG emissions. In 2008, the City was awarded the
Community Action on Energy Efficiency (CAEE) Gold Grant and was also recognized with the
LiveSmart BC Green City Award for demonstrating leadership and innovation in sustainability,
particularly with respect to reducing GHG emissions. In 2010, the City was given the UBCM Energy
and Climate Action Award for its development of the Downtown District Energy System (DDES)
and its collaboration with Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) on energy mapping. After four years of
implementing measures outlined in the EGHGMP, the City is now assessing and reporting on its
progress in undertaking these efforts. This report represents the City’s submission for the PCP
program Milestones 4 and 5 – an opportunity to review the activities that have taken place and
report on the challenges and successes encountered during the implementation of the energy and
GHG management plan.
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