Dear editor,
In October, our local government accomplished a laudable feat that may have gone unnoticed.
The Comox Valley Regional District approved the Residential Emissions Reduction Plan. Among other strategies, the plan implements actions to phase out fossil fuel heating through deep energy retrofits. It also promotes energy-efficient opportunities and requirements in new construction to determine how the Zero Carbon Step Code can be used to meet CVRD鈥檚 20230 Greenhouse Gas reduction target. The Zero Carbon Step Code focuses on emission reductions from new construction.
One of the largest planned new construction projects in our region is Union Bay Estates with 2,889 dwelling units along with commercial, institutional, recreational, and resort land uses.
Given CVRD鈥檚 commitment to reducing fossil fuel emissions in new construction, it begs a question about FortisBC鈥檚 natural gas infrastructure recently installed along the Island Highway. Will the Union Bay Estates development rely on natural gas?
Liquified natural gas (LNG) starts as a fracked fossil gas and ends as burned fossil gas. It comprises 85-95 per cent methane, the emissions of which are 80 times more potent than CO2 in the short term and 30 times worse in the long term.
Methane has contributed 30 per cent of current global warming. And, so-called RNG (renewable natural gas) that is central to Fortis TV advertising, with the slinging of vegetable and animal waste, comprises a mere one per cent of LNG sold in B.C.
It is reported that FortisBC is part of the North American Consortium to Combat Electrification which brings together 15 utilities to create marketing materials to fight electrification. We know that hydropower is B.C.鈥檚 most significant renewable energy source for electrification.
The Union Bay Estates development will be a test of the CVRD鈥檚 commitment to reduce fossil fuel emissions to mitigate the climate crisis.
And, it is a test of recent pledges by countries and industry at the UN Climate Conference to reduce methane emissions 30 per cent by 2030.
Patti Willis,
Denman Island
