BRITISH COLUMBIA – Community groups and local governments throughout the province can receive funding through the Community Outreach Incentive Program (COIP) to educate and encourage people to switch to electric vehicles (EVs). British Columbia is leading the country in transitioning to EVs with more than 60,000 light-duty EVs on the road.
The Province is providing $118,000 through COIP under a partnership with the Emotive outreach and awareness campaign to support BC communities, organizations and local governments delivering local and regional EV-awareness campaigns that include video production, EV events and demonstrations.
This year, COIP funding was also provided to the Clean Transportation Targets and Planning (CTTP) pilot that supports target setting, policy planning and implementation to encourage the transition to EVs as well as other forms of transportation, such as walking, cycling and public transit.
This round of funding through COIP is supporting several communities throughout BC, including $13,000 to the Musqueam Indian Band to create a series of videos promoting the health and environmental benefits of EVs by showcasing Musqueam residents and staff sharing their EV experiences. Funding is also supporting research and planning for future electrification of the Musqueam vehicle fleet.
The Resort Municipality of Whistler and District of Squamish received $9,960 to create videos that profile EV drivers in the commuter workforce in the Sea-to-Sky region and host a webinar to educate people about the advantages of EV ownership. COIP funding has gone toward several videos published on Emotive’s social media channels that feature local stories about the benefits of using an EV, such as savings on fuel costs and breaking down perceived barriers of EV ownership.
In addition, the Resort Municipality of Whistler received $15,040 under the CTTP pilot to develop an e-mobility strategy for EVs, e-bikes and other electric mobility devices. They will set targets for adoption and infrastructure that align with the municipality’s goal of achieving 50 per cent of vehicle kilometres travelled by EVs by 2030.
The COIP and CTTP pilot align with the goals and targets in the Province’s recently released CleanBC Roadmap to 2030, which details a range of expanded actions to accelerate the transition to a net-zero future and achieve BC’s legislated greenhouse gas emissions targets. These actions include strengthening the Zero-Emissions Vehicles (ZEV) Act to require 26 per cent of light-duty vehicle sales to be ZEV by 2026, 90 per cent by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2035, which is five years ahead of the original target.
