New Westminster wants to lead the way in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions with its vehicle fleet.
Alternate fuels and electric vehicles are among the things the city is considering as part of its plan to reduce greenhouse gases. A staff report states that 39 vehicles and motorized equipment are scheduled for replacement over the next two years, so staff will continue to monitor and assess emerging technologies and industry trends and take advantage of opportunities to transition to a more efficient and low-carbon fleet.
Mayor Jonathan Cote said the city is committed to making its fleet of vehicles as green as possible.
“It’s not lost on council that, in terms of our greenhouse gas-reduction targets, all the sectors have met that, with the one exception of vehicles,” he said. “There are a number of different pressures and factors that make that difficult, but I think council still wants to see us pushing as hard as we can to make sure that our greenhouse gas-reduction targets are connecting with the policies of the fleet.”
Coun. Patrick Johnstone said the fleet has to be Number 1 in the city’s emissions plan.
“I can only encourage staff to be as proactive and forward-thinking as possible here,” he said. “We have a lot of advantages in the city compared to other cities.”
Johnstone said the city works in five-year budget cycles, so it’s sometimes hard to think of the “payback period” for some of the initiatives related to greening of the fleet, as it can take longer than five years.
“I recognize that we have a lot of challenges. I am just asking staff to please not back away from these challenges, but to spend some time finding out what cutting-edge technology is going on,” he said. “We are a small city. We have our own electric utility. You’ve got an innovative council who really wants to embrace new technology and new initiatives, so if we can’t do it, no one can. So let’s see what we can do in terms of being regional and national leaders on our fleet emissions.”
