Stephen Rees's blog

Rob Abbott Executive Director
Climate Action Secretariat

Another of the lunchtime Carbon Talks at SFU downtown today. Held in a room that not only has no public wifi but also no cell phone signal – at least not from my network, which was at 5 bars outside at the bus stop. So not really much response to their suggestion that people tweet. Even so, given the paucity of my notes you might glean something from the storify I put together. The event was live streamed and is now available as a video.

I must admit I was a bit puzzled given the announcement yesterday about the Carbon Trust – which has now been moved inside the Secretariat. No one asked about that – or about the referendum. If I had got a change to ask a question, I would have asked if he really did work for Christy Clark as I was very conscious of a lot of cognitive dissonance.

Below unedited for the cognoscenti are my raw notes. I am not now going to edit them as the full talk can be seen on youtube. By the way I am pleased to note, given what I wrote yesterday that Bob Paddon is now acknowledging “Mobility pricing may not be a solution in the shorter term” – but I suggest that we do actually need some short term solutions. Not just to deal with transportation in the Lower Mainland but also to deal with Climate Change – and what Canada, and BC in particular, are both intent on doing does not seem to be going in the right direction at all.

Here as a provocateur. Open up a space about a conversation that matters. Ties to dialogue tomorrow.

Portfolio approach includes ng for commercial and light trucks TOD

Behaviour change is hard esp wrt cars iconic far more than mobility

Convergence
Land use mixed, complete community etc
IPCC report
BC target GHG down GDP and pop both up
Encouraging trends

More we can do
Clean Transportation Strategy
Need to couple bldgs to transport

Claims 20 to 30%  reduction in GHG for NG trucks compared to diesel

10% reduction in intensity of fuel

Warranty provisions for liquid fuels

Expansion of urban transit
$14bn inc Evergreen Line
BC Transit data
No TransLink data
Make it something you want to take

Car sharing
Calgary growing car2go fastest

TOD is the big one
Affordability is goal = congestion reduction
Complete streets
Paddon oped in Sun today
Climate Action Charter for LG
(Lots of motherhood and apple pie does he really work for Christy?)

Wholly new paradigm

Q

How high can transit fees go
Govt going in wrong direction re coal and oil exports
Need for pt plan provincially

1 massive failure of communication narrative shld raise fees context ppl aren’t reflexively opposed
2 yes we have to be responsible citizens what
3 need to open up something quite different …how ppl g&s might flow province not there quite yet

Production is more important than consumption in GHG
Biodiesel can go much higher
Corporate culture ..no need to commute

3 part of the solution waffles at length
2 lcf is sexy can go higher
1 embodied carbon must account for it and reduce it -how to do that w/o reduced q of life
Electricity imports

1 Massey
2 port emissions will double in next few years – truck traffic
3 how much do you look at other places?

3 easy to beat ourselves up. Our planners go to Sweden. Would these ideas work here
2 good at parts much less at integration
1 lynch pin investment lifestyle aspiration and land cost how we connect those communities will still need roads

Holistic approach

Multiple levels of trust
Stadium of our egos
A lot is happening which shows that the trust is there
Collaboration with stakeholders