Metro Vancouver looks to curb GHG emissions from large commercial buildings

Source: Derrick Penner | · VANCOUVER SUN · | September 6, 2023

Getting older buildings off natural gas would be "the single biggest change" Metro Vancouver could make to meet its own net-zero-goals.

Source: Canada's first ever zero-carbon firehall is located at 7070 Knight St. in Vancouver. PHOTO BY CITY OF VANCOUVER

Metro Vancouver has set its climate sights on large commercial buildings as it tries to get a better control of greenhouse gas emissions.

Large commercial buildings make up just two per cent of building stock in the region but account for 35 per cent of their GHG emissions.

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And those emissions are on the rise, up 10 per cent, to 2.4 million tonnes, last year from a stable 2.3 million tonnes from 2019 through 2021, according to Metro Vancouver reporting.

That trend makes it “clear that stronger action is needed to achieve the climate targets that the Metro Vancouver board has adopted and, in fact, all levels of government have adopted,” said Erik Blair, a senior planner with Metro’s air quality and climate action services group.

So the regional district is leaning on its responsibility to regulate air quality to set requirements for existing large commercial buildings — those more than 25,000 square feet — to meet emission-reduction targets, which it has been working on since 2022 starting with industry consultations.

On Thursday, Metro Vancouver’s climate action committee will receive a report that outlines progress toward writing those regulations, which would start with a requirement for building owners to report annually on GHG emissions, then meet phased in limits to reach net-zero by 2050.