Tell Maple Ridge City Council to support climate-safe buildings

The Maple Ridge City Council needs our support to pass a critical piece of climate policy.

If approved, the Zero Carbon Step Code will ensure that new buildings are constructed to run on clean electricity instead of polluting methane gas – tackling one of the biggest sources of climate pollution in cities. But predictably, Fortis reps are showing up in communities across BC fighting tooth and nail to block this policy and keep hooking up gas lines to new homes, so Council needs to hear from as many people as possible before the vote.

Emissions from homes are the third-largest source of carbon pollution in BC - approximately 12% of climate pollution - and indoor gas appliances also hurt our health, so switching from fracked gas to clean electricity should be an obvious step. Already over two dozen municipalities from Langley to Burnaby to Nanaimo have taken the lead by passing low carbon construction policies – it’s time for Maple Ridge to join them.

Will you send an email to the Maple Ridge Mayor and Council now telling them you support a strong Zero Carbon Step Code?

Email Maple Ridge Mayor and Council now

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Maple Ridge

Mayor

and Council

City of Maple Ridge

Dear Mayor and Council,

I was encouraged to see our Mayor’s Taskforce on Climate Action consider the Zero Carbon Step Code as one of its top five priorities last month, and I’m urging the Mayor and Council to pass the Taskforce’s recommendations without delay (which is listed in the ZCSC staff report as alternative option “maintain MTCA recommendation”).

As a Maple Ridge resident, I want to see our community take meaningful action to build affordable homes and buildings for a climate-safe future. I also want to see us move in lockstep with our neighbours. More than half of the people living in Metro Vancouver are covered by policies that already require low carbon construction – it’s time for Maple Ridge to join them. Passing Zero Carbon Step Code for all types of buildings on the timeline recommended by the Mayor’s Taskforce is one of the most effective and straightforward steps Maple Ridge can take to meet our climate commitments while helping residents save on energy bills.

Delaying this common-sense recommendation will only saddle homeowners with costly and cumbersome retrofits down the road to upgrade their heat or hot water from gas to electric. Delaying would also put us out of sync with Burnaby, Richmond, the North Shore municipalities, New Westminster, the Township of Langley, Vancouver, Port Moody and over 20 other municipalities across the province.

What’s more, passing a strong Zero Carbon Step Code will protect the health and safety of our most vulnerable residents. Not only do we already have the affordable technology to heat our homes with electric heat pumps instead of gas furnaces and boilers, but heat pumps will save lives during future heat domes by providing cooling too.

Despite Fortis’ misleading rhetoric, we currently have more than enough electricity to power our homes with efficient heat pumps, and the province is investing in greater electrical grid capacity to prepare for the future. Fortis’ own research shows that the vast majority of its electric heat pumps are by far the best option for decarbonizing our building stock.

I’m calling on Maple Ridge to join Langley, Nanaimo and a growing wave of dozens of municipalities across the province and pass a strong Zero Carbon Step Code policy. In 2023, our council formed a task force on climate change to establish Maple Ridge as a leader among local governments in addressing climate change – now it’s time to act.

Thank you,

{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}, {user_data~Zip or Postal Code}

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