Next Monday, December 15, the Langley Township Council will vote on whether to severely weaken its climate-safe buildings policies that protect residents from extreme heat by exempting over 3,000 new homes from requiring modern heat pumps that provide heating and cooling. Let’s make sure Council knows it can’t move backwards on protecting residents.
In 2023, Langley Township passed two important climate policies: requiring energy-efficient new homes and ensuring they're heated with clean electricity instead of polluting methane gas. At the time, Mayor Woodward championed both the climate benefits and the long term cost-savings for residents (read more in this OpEd by local resident Cheryl Wiens).
And Langley isn’t alone – over 30 places from Maple Ridge to Nanaimo have passed their own policies to tackle the biggest source of climate pollution in many B.C. communities. But predictably, Fortis reps are fighting tooth and nail to roll back progress, developers are pushing for as much deregulation as possible, and now next week the Township of Langley Council will consider taking a massive step backwards.
Rolling back the Zero Carbon and Energy Step Codes would saddle residents with costly retrofits and make new homes less prepared for extreme heat – especially since electric heat pumps provide both heating and cooling.
And importantly, the Province now requires all new homes to have some requirement to protect people from extreme heat, by having at least one cooled room, and ideally cooling throughout the home. Heat pumps are the simplest and most reliable way to meet these requirements. Langley residents don’t want to roll back climate action and deserve safe, affordable homes.
Will you send a message calling on Mayor Woodward and the rest of Council to protect these key step code policies?
