City of Powell River council heard a request to put warning labels on gas pumps to remind consumers about climate change.
Matt Hulse, BC campaign director for Our Horizon, appeared online as a delegation via Skype at the Thursday, July 2, council meeting.
Our Horizon, the organization he represents, is a not-for-profit organization that is asking municipalities to require climate change and air pollution warning labels on gas pumps as a condition of the business licensing process. The labels would be similar to those attached to tobacco products.
Hulse said there are more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere than ever before and it is affecting the planet.
He said that two degrees Celsius is the maximum figure given for how much the global mean temperature can rise and maintain semblance of historical climatic conditions. He added it is forecast that 565 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide is the amount of greenhouse gas emissions it will take to reach this ceiling. There are more than enough fossil fuels remaining in the ground to far exceed that figure. At the current rate of emissions, it will take 16 years to reach the ceiling, so that is the transition period available to move an oil-based economy to something cleaner and greener, according to Hulse.
“Our labels are a simple, effective and low-cost tool to help us do just that,” Hulse said.
Mayor Dave Formosa said the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities brought this initiative for the Union of BC Municipalities’ consideration. Formosa said that council could talk about the prospect of a letter of support and that the committee of the whole could discuss the prospect of the bylaw changes that would be required to adopt the Our Horizon initiative. Council agreed to look at writing a letter of support and the possibility of putting warning labels on gas pumps.
In a letter to council, Hulse said Our Horizon believes the labels are a unique way to engage fossil fuel users and create space for government and industry to implement climate-friendly transportation options. He stated that it is a concept that is gaining momentum across Canada and also in the United States. He has been travelling across BC this summer to ask municipal councils to consider implementing these labels. Our Horizon is also asking municipalities to support a resolution that will push the province to do so.
Hulse’s correspondence indicated that while climate change discourse in Canada tends to focus on oil sands and pipelines, the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions in this sector actually come from end-use. Emissions from extraction and processing pale in comparison to emissions from vehicle combustion.
The transportation sector in British Columbia accounts for 40 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in the province, according to Hulse. Exhaust from automobiles contributes to poor air quality and has been associated with cardiovascular disease, stroke, lung cancer, leukemia and other health concerns.
The sources and impacts of these emissions are experienced locally. Municipal action on climate change is well established and is integral to addressing the issue, Hulse said.
