Coldstream Meets Carbon Reduction Goals

Posted on 5/10/2016 5:40 PM by Ron Manz 107.5 KISSFM

The District of Coldstream has once again met it's goal of being carbon neutral. In 2015 the community managed to reduce it's carbon footprint by 382 tonnes. It purchased 76-hundred dollars in carbon credits using it's $10-thousand dollar Climate Action Revenue Incentive Program grant from the Province. That fund now has a surplus of over $22-thousand dollars to assist in future actions to remain carbon neutral.
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Coldstream Carbon Neutral Report P.105-118

http://vernonblog.blogspot.ca/search/label/Pacific%20Carbon%20Trust
Climate Action Revenue Incentive (CARIP) reports (Coldstream)

• 2015 CARIP report
• 2014 CARIP report
• 2013 CARIP report
• 2012 CARIP report

Pacific Carbon Trust will not receive city money

By Andrea Klassen - Kamloops This Week Updated: June 19, 2013 4:27 PM

The city may have failed to meet an ambitious carbon neutrality target, but the Pacific Carbon Trust won’t be getting $226,000 of Kamloops’ money.  According to the terms of the Climate Action Charter the city singed (sic) in 2007, Kamloops should be paying the carbon-offsetting organization $25 for each of the 9.060 tonnes of greenhouse gasses it produced last year. But, the provincial government has given cities that signed the charter but didn’t achieve carbon neutrality in five years the option to claim they are “making progress” towards their goals. Governments that pick that option, as Kamloops did, will have to continue working on projects to reduce the greenhouse gases produced during city operations — and also get to keep a more than $200,000 carbon-tax rebate they receive annually for signing the charter. Few councillors expressed much support for paying Pacific Carbon Trust, which came under fire this spring after B.C.’s auditor general released a report saying its offset programs aren’t credible. “When [money] goes off to the carbon trust, I have a whole lot of problems with seeing results in our community,” said Coun. Marg Spina. “To me it’s a bit of a shell game.” Other councillors agreed. Coun Tina Lange suggested the money could go to improving air quality downtown, while Coun. Nancy Bepple wants to see the carbon-tax rebates used to fund transit. City environmental-services manager Jen Fretz said it’s possible the city will have to pay for its 2013 emissions, but said she expects the government will offer more relief from charter commitments.

BC carbon plan a 'sham'

by The Canadian Press - Castanet Mar 27, 2013 / 4:58 pm
Auditor general John Doyle calls the B.C. government's carbon offset program a sham. But the government and operators of the program are firing back, accusing Doyle of ignoring evidence and lacking the proper expertise to examine the system. In a report released today, Doyle says the government spent $6 million on projects to offset the effects of air pollution, but the projects would have gone ahead anyway so the offsets were not credible, and as a result the government can't claim it has achieved carbon neutrality. Environment Minister Terry Lake rejected that finding, insisting the province is the first carbon-neutral government in North America, and its offset system is based on international standards. The Pacific Carbon Trust, which manages the offset system, challenged Doyle's findings, saying the two projects he reviewed had already been audited by two independent auditing firms and passed with flying colours. The Trust says Doyle's office lacked the expertise to pass judgement on the program. For his part, Doyle says his office was subjected an unprecedented and orchestrated campaign of delay and interference, led by the carbon trust and the interests behind carbon offsets.
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Report: OAG Carbon Neutral.pd

B.C. to share carbon tax know-how with Oregon

VICTORIA – British Columbia’s world-leading climate action policies have caught the attention of the State of Oregon. Environment Minister Terry Lake has been invited to brief business and policy leaders and the Oregon legislature on B.C.’s carbon tax experience as the state considers a carbon tax as a new revenue option.“Having Oregon ask me to describe our experience with the carbon tax is extremely gratifying because it demonstrates, once again, that other jurisdictions are closely following our climate action policies,” said Lake. “B.C.’s broad-based, revenue-neutral carbon tax is working – it provides a signal in the economy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and encourages sustainable economic activity and green jobs.”The most recent available data shows that since the carbon tax was implemented, fossil fuel consumption in B.C. has gone down by more than the national average, without affecting economic growth.

B.C.’s carbon tax is revenue neutral, meaning every dollar generated by the tax is returned to British Columbians through personal and business tax cuts. Since 2008, the Carbon Tax has raised a total of $3.7 billion – all reinvested into tax reductions for businesses, individuals and families.

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Also see Carbon Tax Boondoggle : http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/carbon-offsets-bcs-looniest-green-scheme-yet/article9623584/

Public pays huge markup for carbon offsets, records show

 MARK HUME  VANCOUVER — The Globe and Mail  Published Thursday, Feb. 14 2013, 9:00 AM EST
School boards, hospitals and other public-sector entities in British Columbia are paying far higher prices for carbon offsets than is justified by the market, according to the financial records of the Pacific Carbon Trust.  Data that the Crown agency has long withheld, but which is to be released by government this week, shows that corporations such as TimberWest Forest Co., Encana Corp., and International Forest Products Ltd., have been selling carbon credits to the Pacific Carbon Trust for prices ranging from $9 to $19 a ton. At the same time, however, public sector agencies have been paying $25 a ton to buy offsets from the Pacific Carbon Trust. The discrepancy has sparked an internal government debate over the fairness of the price structure, and outside of government, it’s raising questions about whether the Pacific Carbon Trust should be scrapped. B.C. Environment Minister Terry Lake said Wednesday that his government remains committed to carbon neutrality, but is reviewing the Pacific Carbon Trust. “Having those numbers now, we need to take a look at options to make sure not only is the Pacific Carbon Trust getting good value, but also the organizations paying into them, the public-sector organizations, are getting good value,” he said. Mr. Lake said cutting the rate paid by the public sector or using the Pacific Carbon Trust surplus to pay down government debt are two possible options. But he doesn’t want the program dropped. (more)
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Also see: BC: Are the Pacific Carbon Trust's Days Numbered?
 BC: Taxpayers Pay Millions in Carbon Corporate Welfare—Again
 Feb 2012 List: (Local ones excerpted)
School District 22, Vernon $65,431
UBC Okanagan $71,268
Okanagan College $47,540
Interior Health Authority $965,891

Crown corporation draws taxpayer group’s ire as carbon credit sales plummet

By Gordon Hoekstra, Vancouver Sun August 1, 2012
Private companies bought fewer carbon credits to offset their greenhouse gas emissions in 2011-12 than in the previous year from the Pacific Carbon Trust, showing the province’s carbon corporation is a failure, according to a taxpayers’ group. In 2010-11, the carbon trust sold 7,385 tonnes to private clients such as Helijet International, Coast Hotels and the Vancouver Aquarium. But that figure dropped to 2,167 tonnes in 2011-12 after the trust lost West Coast Air as a client. At $25 per tonne of carbon, the sales to private clients netted the Crown corporation only a little more than $54,000. The cash from private clients is dwarfed by money the Pacific Carbon Trust collects from the B.C. public sector of $18.2 million for nearly 730,000 tonnes of carbon credits. Private companies are not obligated to buy carbon credits to offset greenhouse gas emissions. In contrast, provincial public institutions — including hospitals, universities and schools — have to pay the trust for carbon credits under B.C. law in order to hypothetically reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to zero. (more)

BC: Taxpayers Pay Millions in Carbon Corporate Welfare—Again

By: Jordan Bateman Taxpayer.com Posted: July 31, 2012
 The B.C. government’s Pacific Carbon Trust has become frighteningly adept at taking taxpayers’ money—$14 million last year—and transferring it to big businesses. It’s time for the provincial government to scrap the Trust, and end corporate welfare disguised as environmentalism. The numbers prove that transferring tax dollars to companies through the illusion of carbon neutrality is a massive failure. The Trust’s new annual report, released in late July, shows that government agencies purchased 775,825 of the 777,992 carbon offsets sold by the Trust last year. That means 99.7 per cent of the Trust’s work was funded by taxpayers. Only 12 private companies or individuals bought carbon credits last year for a measly $54,050. The rest of the Trust’s $14 million budget was funded exclusively by taxpayers, taking money out of our pockets, classrooms, hospitals and social services. For example, the Vancouver School District was forced to buy $454,824 in carbon credits. The Vancouver Island Health Authority spent $887,926. The Northern Health Authority paid $650,466. Under provincial law, if it was a provincial government agency, it had to become carbon neutral by purchasing offsets from the Trust. Even worse, that taxpayer money flowed exclusively into the pockets of corporations, including some of the largest companies in the province. Lafarge, a $20 billion company, was paid by the Trust for 22,998 carbon credits. Encana, an $8.8 billion company, was paid for 84,276 credits. Canfor, a $2.5 billion company, was paid for 41,573 credits. Other sellers included TimberWest and Interfor. These companies reduced their carbon footprints through various projects such as switching fuel sources and sold the resulting pollution savings, known as carbon credits, to the Trust. The Trust acts as a middleman, buying carbon credits form private companies with tax dollars. The Trust does not publish the cost of purchasing carbon credits from these private companies, only saying it’s less than the $25 price tag they put on each carbon credit when they’re selling them to various government agencies. At a conservative estimate of $20 per credit, that’s almost $1.7 million to Encana, $831,000 to Canfor and almost half a million dollars to Lafarge. (more)
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 Feb 2012 List: (Local ones excerpted)
School District 22, Vernon $65,431
UBC Okanagan $71,268
Okanagan College $47,540
Interior Health Authority $965,891

Free online tool allows homeowners to calculate energy savings and other ecological benefits of their trees

The Estimator is housed on LEAF's website www.yourleaf.org .  Research has shown that strategically placed trees provide shade and windbreak that can significantly reduce demand for air conditioning in summer and heating in winter.  By preserving existing trees and planting new trees in the right locations, Ontarians can reduce their electricity bills, beautify their properties and help the environment all at the same time.

The Estimator has the ability to both model future benefits of a newly planted tree as well as estimate the current and accumulated benefits of an existing tree. The Estimator models the number of KWh saved, the dollar value of electricity savings, the amount of CO2 sequestered, the amount of avoided CO2, as well as the number of liters of stormwater mitigated and kilograms of air pollution removed.

Anyone can access and use the Estimator by visiting the LEAF website at www.yourleaf.org 
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Don Quixote Note: Below is the results from this calculator for  a old basswood tree I have in my Front-yard. Had to use an Ontario City as no other choice. (Windsor)

In view of the estimated Value of $18,034 I may put tree up for sale on E-Bay or Craigslist. (Buy it now for $15,000 ???)

Council does not remain 'idle'

by Wayne Moore - Castanet Jun 21, 2012 / 5:30 am

Vehicles operated by the District of West Kelowna won't be idle much longer. West Kelowna Council adopted a new 'Anti-Idling' Policy Tuesday which will curtail municipal vehicles from idling for more than five minutes. The policy means vehicle operators will ensure they are not idling for more than the five minute time frame unless necessary, such as being stuck in traffic. West Kelowna is one of many municipalities in the province to have signed on to the province's Climate Action Charter. The anti-idling policy was adopted in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions released from idling vehicles and reduce the municipality's carbon footprint.

B.C. communities receive latest GHG emissions reports

VANCOUVER – The B.C. government has released its 2010 Community Energy and Emissions Inventory (CEEI) reports for all local governments. These reports assist local governments in monitoring progress toward community-wide GHG emissions reduction targets for their official community plans. 

 North Okanagan Regional District CEEI Reports

North Okanagan Regional District	XLS	PDF
North Okanagan Regional District Unincorporated Areas	XLS	PDF
Armstrong, City of	XLS	PDF
Coldstream, District of	XLS	PDF
Enderby, City of	XLS	PDF
Lumby, Village of	XLS	PDF
Spallumcheen, District of	XLS	PDF
Vernon, City of	XLS	PDF

 

Schools to get carbon cash

By Mario Bartel - Burnaby NewsLeader Published: April 09, 2012 4:00 PM

Burnaby School Board chair Larry Hayes has been appointed by the BC School Trustees Association to help the Ministry of Education allocate money from its new Energy Efficient Capital Account to energy efficient projects by school districts across the province.  Hayes will work with the Ministry to develop a formula for distributing the money that comes from carbon offset fees charged to school boards. Previously those funds had been deposited into the Pacific Carbon Trust and then distributed to third parties such as Encana Corporation to help reduce its carbon emissions. Environment Minister Terry Lake announced the change to the program last week. The new capital account will make $5 million available to school districts for energy efficient projects that will lower their carbon emissions. That’s good news for B.C. schools, according to BCSTA president Michael McEvoy. “This funding will allow us to invest in energy efficiencies for our schools that will save energy, save money and improve the environment for our students now and into the future.” When school districts were mandated to become carbon neutral, or otherwise purchase carbon offsets for every tonne of carbon emissions they produce, the fee for those offsets was set at approximately $11 per student. That amounts to more than $400,000 paid by the Burnaby school district over the past two years. At its annual general meeting last April, the BCSTA had passed a resolution calling for the carbon offset fees to be reinvested solely in board of education projects. “I am pleased the government has responded positively to our advocacy,” said McEvoy. School boards will also no longer have to pay the costs, estimated at about 82 cents per student, for the SMARTTool software that is used to calculate and report carbon emissions.