The Simon Fraser University (SFU) Renewable Cities program has been selected by the City of Vancouver, Metro Vancouver and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) to establish a regional Low Carbon Cities Canada (LC3) Innovation Centre to accelerate urban climate solutions through research, capacity building, and innovative financial tools.
The Metro Vancouver LC3 Centre, which is expected to launch in September 2021, will be a new non-profit entity that will help cities across the region meet their climate action goals. The LC3 Centre will be funded through a $21.7 million endowment from the federal government, which will be used to identify, finance and scale up local climate solutions such as building retrofits and electrification of transportation.
“In November 2020, Vancouver City Council approved the Climate Emergency Action Plan, which provides a roadmap to scale-up local climate action and reduce our carbon pollution by 50 per cent by 2030,” said Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart. “The Federal funding to create the LC3 centre will boost our ability to develop and invest in new local solutions and support innovation as we continue to reduce carbon emissions from buildings and transportation, which are key priorities of our accelerated climate work.”
The LC3 Centre will seek to partner with other levels of government, non-profit organizations and the private sector, to maximize its impact and leverage the endowment.
“There has never been a more important time to accelerate urban climate action,” said Sav Dhaliwal, chair of the Metro Vancouver Board of Directors. “Through the LC3 Centre, our local communities will have a venue for developing, testing and implementing innovative solutions that can be broadly rolled out and scaled across our region. Metro Vancouver looks forward to working with the LC3 Centre and SFU toward helping us meet our ambitious climate goals and creating a carbon neutral region by 2050.”
The federal endowment for the Metro Vancouver LC3 Centre is part of a $183 million initiative called Low Carbon Cities Canada. LC3 supports cities and communities in reaching their carbon emissions reduction potential, while improving public health and the local economy. This initiative, implemented in partnership among seven local centres and FCM, is funded by the Government of Canada.
“Canadians want cleaner air and cleaner water for their children and grandchildren. The research and collaboration that will take place at the Metro Vancouver LC3 Centre will help deliver just that, while creating good jobs here in Vancouver, fighting climate change, and protecting our planet,” stated Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
Over the next eight months, SFU will be leading stakeholder engagement and strategic planning work to establish and launch the Metro Vancouver LC3 Centre. Input will be gathered from a range of stakeholders, including local and provincial government, industry, non-profit organizations and the finance sector, to ensure the Centre prioritizes local needs and opportunities.
Low Carbon Cities Canada (LC3) is a partnership between seven centres in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities intended to accelerate urban climate solutions and help Canada meet its 2030 and 2050 carbon reduction targets.
The LC3 initiative helps cities reduce their carbon footprint by identifying, capitalizing and testing local solutions such as building retrofits, distributed renewable power, zero waste circular economy, electrification of transportation, shared mobility, and integrating transportation with land use patterns.
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