(Photo credit: Adam Donnelly).
GREEN FUNDING

Kamloops councillor grateful for provincial climate change dollars coming to municipalities

Mar 1, 2022 | 4:09 PM

KAMLOOPS — The provincial government is offering $76 million to cities across B.C. to use for projects that will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as announced in a press conference Monday (Feb. 28) morning.

“Local governments are on the leading edge of fighting climate change and our government is committed to amplifying their work,” said Municipal Affairs Minister Nathan Cullen.

The City of Kamloops has a goal to reduce emissions by 80 per cent by the year 2050.

The funding will go to enhancing active transportation options, electric vehicle charging stations and retrofitting older homes to be more efficient, according to Councillor Arjun Singh.

“Also things like helping industry and homeowners kinda understand better what they could do,” he said. “Education and engagement is a big thing as well.”

This funding comes after a year of record breaking disasters like the heat dome this summer and the atmospheric river event in November.

“I think we’re living [through] climate change now, and all governments are starting to really realize things that we have to really work on: not only adapting what we have now but making sure it’s not worse going forward,” said Singh.

The money is part of the $1.2 billion dedicated to CleanBC, the province’s climate change action plan, in Budget 2022.