Blue Skies

The City is working on a new Community Climate Action Plan to protect Penticton’s blue skies. The plan sets targets and recommends actions to reduce Penticton’s contributions to greenhouse gas emissions. As residents and businesses have the biggest role in the success of this plan, your involvement is essential. A draft of the plan has been prepared and now the City wants to hear from you. Please consider the following Penticton Climate Facts and complete the survey below to let us know if the plan is headed in the right direction.

Penticton Climate Facts

• Penticton emits 250,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions (CO2) annually.
• This is an increase of about 22% since our first Community Climate Action Plan in 2011.
• The main sources of our emissions are gasoline vehicles (55%), inefficient buildings (31%) and organic waste (14%).
• The Government of Canada has set a target to reduce emissions 40% by 2030 and 100% by 2050.
• The City’s current target for emissions reduction in the Official Community Plan is 10% by 2030.

All completed surveys will be entered in a draw for energy-saving prizes donated by FortisBC! The City will be collecting feedback through to September 26, 2021.

One of the biggest climate actions we can take in Penticton is changing how we heat and cool our homes and buildings. That is why the Penticton Community Energy & Emissions Plan has a big focus on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from existing buildings – where we live and work. If we can switch the energy we use for heating, cooling and hot water, and tune-up building to reduce energy waste, we can really lower our overall community emissions. 

The purpose of this survey is to determine how much homeowners already understand about home energy efficiency. We also want to know what is preventing more people from doing deep energy retrofits, and what information or education residents may need to make decisions about investing in building retrofits. This survey will also help the City of Penticton better understand how it can support more homeowners and renters to do deep energy retrofits.

Gas and diesel vehicles are a significant source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the community. That’s why how we move is an important part of the Penticton Community Climate Action Plan -  transportation options like electric vehicles (EV), transit/carpool, and active transportation (i.e., walking, cycling, etc.), are some of the best ways we can reduce GHGs in our community. 

The City wishes to gather input from residents to understand local barriers to electrifying passenger cars and shifting beyond the car. This will help the City develop solutions to overcome the identified barriers and understand what policies and programs it can offer to help accelerate the shift to EVs.

Because 83% of Penticton residents’ trips to work are in a car/truck/van, this survey has a primary focus on EVs, but also briefly covers other transportation options.