$22-million in federal funding for City of Vancouver's Low Carbon Innovation Centre

A federal funding infusion of $22 million has been committed towards the City of Vancouver’s spearheading of a so-called Low Carbon Innovation Centre (LCIC) for all of the Metro Vancouver region.

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According to a release, the creation of a new LCIC is in consultation with other municipal governments, the regional district, provincial government, industry stakeholders, local universities, and non-profit organizations.

The federal government’s funding for the project is part of a $183-million national initiative called Low Carbon Cities of Canada (LC3), which aims to help major cities reduce their carbon footprint through “research, capacity building, and use of innovative financial tools.”

The other LC3 cities are Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax.

“Vancouver city council has joined cities around the world in declaring a Climate Emergency to scale-up climate action and limit warming to 1.5°C,” said Vancouver mayor Kennedy Stewart in a statement.

“This funding investment and our leadership to develop the centre will help to develop and share new local solutions and best practices to reduce carbon emissions from buildings, which is a key priority of our climate action response.”

The LC3 will focus on low-carbon innovations in building retrofits, distributed renewable power, zero-waste circular economy, electrification of transportation, shared mobility, and integrating transportation with land use.

The Vancouver LCIC will operate independently, but in close collaboration with municipal governments.

“To keep Vancouver liveable, we will need to decrease our emissions, as well as focus on affordability and grow green jobs in the region,” said Gil Kelley, general manager of planning, urban design, and sustainability. “The city has a successful track record of collaborating with external organizations and the private sector to advance our climate goals and we’re looking forward to building on those partnerships with the LC3 project.”

The LC3 is based on the successful model pioneered by The Atmospheric Fund (TAF) in Toronto, which began in 1991 through an endowment from the City of Toronto.