Read more publications related to: British Columbia, Climate Change, Community Action, Provincial Action, Renewable Energy.

B.C.'s Green Economy at Work

We hear talk of a "green economy," but what does this really mean? These three fact sheets help to illustrate a world where energy is less polluting, business thrives and jobs are plentiful.

In The Business of Climate Change , we profile six companies that are facing the climate change challenge head-on.

Walking the Green Talk tells the stories of four hypothetical families in B.C. and the changes they can make at home in the next five to 10 years to get ahead of a changing economy and to do their part to help the environment.

Putting a Price on Climate Pollution explains how carbon taxes work and offers four recommendations to make B.C.'s carbon tax more fair and effective.

Powering the Future

You may not know it yet, but British Columbia is on the front line of a revolution poised to reduce the world's dependence on oil. In 20 years, one in every three vehicles on B.C.'s roads could be electric. That adds up to more than one million electric vehicles.

If that many electric vehicles were on the province's roads right now, oil demand would be reduced by about 12 million barrels per year — more than twice the amount of oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico during BP's Deepwater Horizon disaster — and B.C.'s annual greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced by 7%, or 4.7 million tonnes.

To get there, we need governments to continue taking steps to ensure the right infrastructure and incentives are in place.

Find out the top five reasons why electric vehicles are right for B.C. in this fact sheet.

Or download the backgrounder.

Canada's Coolest Cities

"What are Canada's large cities doing to encourage low-carbon choices for personal transportation?" Canada's Coolest Cities, a new Pembina Institute report, answers this question through case studies of Canada's six largest urban areas: Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto.

The study found that the City of Vancouver has demonstrated a strong commitment to sustainability, with plans to become the Greenest City in the World by 2020. As of 2008, Vancouver had reduced its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels, while its population grew by 27%.

However, the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), which covers a much larger geographical area and population, has not achieved the same success. The Vancouver CMA has a much lower share of commuters using transit, bikes or walking than the City of Vancouver.

For more detailed findings on Vancouver, read the Vancouver Case Study. For the complete study results, visit the Coolest Cities web page.