More electric vehicles, emissions testing could be coming under new P.E.I. climate change strategy
Province will release climate change action plan in fall
It will be months before the province decides which recommendations it will adopt from the new Climate Change Mitigation document released Friday, says a spokesperson with P.E.I.'s Department of Communities, Land and Environment.
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The province just received the final draft recommendations from the energy consultant, Dunsky Consulting, which carried out public consultations across P.E.I. in November 2016.
The document looks at possible actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including:
- Reduce the use of non-electric energy.
- Install up to 40 more biomass heating systems for public buildings.
- Incentives to switch to electric vehicles.
- Switch P.E.I. school buses to electric.
- Base registration pricing on vehicle size and fuel efficiency.
- Regular vehicle emissions testing.
- Plant more trees.
The suggestions will now be explored by sub-committees in P.E.I.'s Climate Change Secretariat, the spokesperson said, including looking at how feasible certain solutions would be for P.E.I., and what the potential impacts might be.
CBC asked to speak to Minister of Communities, Land and Environment Robert Mitchell but was told it is too early for the department to comment.
The province is planning on releasing its climate change action plan in the fall, the spokesperson said.
P.E.I., along with the other Eastern Canadian provinces and New England States, has committed to reducing emissions by 35 to 45 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030.
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