City of Courtenay Official Community Plan - 2026 update

C

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High-quality of life for the entire community must be achieved with a shrinking - and eventually eliminated - carbon footprint by 2050. Cities are estimated to be responsible Green House Gas (GHG) emissions, underscoring the critical role that local governments and their communities play in directly controlling or influencing emissions. Municipal actions can meaningfully address emissions associated with energy use in buildings, transportation systems, and infrastructure, as well as emissions from solid waste management and wastewater treatment. Transportation accounts for the majority of Courtenay's emissions, and is thus the area in which most change must occur. As explored throughout Part B, land use and urban form play a vital role in reducing transportation related emissions. Buildings are the second greatest source of emissions, followed by waste management practices. The OCP includes policies that were intentionally developed to address Courtenay’s total community energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and to support the achievement of a net-zero GHG target by 2050. Courtenay’s emissions profile and modelling of projected GHG emissions associated with growth were previously developed and presented as part of the 2022 OCP. While updated, detailed emissions modelling was not within the scope of the 2026 OCP update, the underlying policy directions remain valid and aligned with established decarbonisation pathways. For the purposes of the 2026 POLICY FOUNDATION: UNDERSTANDING COURTENAY’S LOW-CARBON APPROACH

update, emissions information is therefore presented as a snapshot in time. The City of Courtenay continues to work with the Comox Valley Regional District to regularly update community emissions inventories, which will be used to monitor progress toward the long-term target of net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.

Why the modelling only tells part of the story

Methods to evaluate community-wide energy and emissions only tells part of Courtenay’s emissions story as it does not include the embodied energy of some ‘climate solutions’ such as electric vehicles, the emissions associated with the wider consumption patterns (beyond energy) that occurs within Courtenay’s boundaries, or as a result of all activities by its citizens. In the pursuit of a truly net-zero emissions community, Courtenay should strive to reduce GHGs beyond what is measured in this OCP. At the time of the writing of this Plan, methods to measure the embodied energy of actions and technologies and consumption behaviours within communities are being developed as community planning tools. These analyses are expected to become more common in evaluating community wide climate action opportunities over time and offer an opportunity for Courtenay to continue to understand, account for, and take action on emissions in future OCP updates. In identifying larger GHG footprints than currently accounted for, these analyses likely will also identify that net zero community wide emissions are harder to achieve as we account for more GHG sources in our daily lives.

PART C Thematic Policies