VANCOUVER, B.C. – At tonight’s Vancouver Board of  Education meeting, Green Trustee and Chair, Janet Fraser will forward a motion aimed at reducing emissions from schools across the province by 50 per cent by 2030 in order to meet the CleanBC goal for public buildings. 

The motion proposes that the British Columbia School Trustees Association (BCSTA) establish a working group tasked with providing information and recommendations on the ability of school districts to meet the reduction target, set by CleanBC, under the Government’s existing capital funding programs. Currently, the Province’s Carbon Neutral Capital Program (CNCP) only allots $5 million annually to the Ministry of Education.

“Targets have no meaning unless there is a plan of action and funding in place to reach them,” said Fraser.

“Buildings account for over 50 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions here in Vancouver — we need to make our schools, and all buildings, more energy efficient if we are going to avert a climate catastrophe.

“The Vancouver School District, in particular, has a unique opportunity to reduce emissions during seismic projects as more than 40 schools could benefit from embedding energy efficiency in their seismic projects to effectively use capital funds and minimize disruption to school communities. 

“The problem ours, and other districts, are facing is that the current level of funding allotted by the province for energy upgrades is only $5 million per year to the Ministry of Education. This amount is not adequate to make the necessary energy upgrades to the hundreds of schools across the province in the next 10 years. 

“This motion aims to find a collaborative path forward that will ensure all school districts can meet CleanBC's 50 percent emission reduction goal by 2030.”

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More Information:

Motion: BCSTA CleanBC Working Group (Page 21)