T2050 - West Kootenay Community EcoSociety

West Kootenay EcoSociety (EcoSociety) aims to get commitments from all West Kootenay municipalities and regional districts to reduce community-level GHGs, transition 100% renewable energy for transportation, heating and cooling in buildings, waste management, and electricity use by 2050, including all public and private-owned infrastructure by 2020. Already two municipalities, Nelson and Slocan, and the Regional District of the Central Kootenay (RDCK) have committed. In 2017, EcoSociety did a baseline analysis, as a starting point, to determine where West Kootenay municipalities local communities’ residential carbon pollution, and what each community is doing to transition off fossil fuels and onto renewable energy. EcoSociety will work with at least two municipalities to get this commitment by early 2019, and an additional seven by the end of 2020. In order to plan and implement this commitment, EcoSociety will work with municipalities and the regional district to develop a regional-municipal pathway to 2050 strategy with implementation milestones, including projects and emissions reductions targets. The pathway to 2050 strategy will include identifying challenges and solutions to overcome barriers, regulations, deregulations, incentives, and provincial-level policy changes. This planning will be done by the end of 2020, with shovel-ready projects and pilot programs being implemented immediately.EcoSociety will work with municipal staff and elected leaders to formalize a collaboration structure, as West Kootenay municipalities commit to 100% renewable energy by 2050 through council motions, starting with the three already committed and working with those who will commit in early 2019.