Enabling Property Assessed Clean Energy Financing Legislation

Whereas Properly Assessed Clean Energy PACE Financing Programs support building retrofits that improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas GHG emissions and can reduce the capital cost barrier and streamline access to retrofits for lower income households or those enduring energy poverty by providing low or zero-interest financing that is repaid via property tax requisition, as clearly demonstrated by the successful Saanich Oil to Heat Pump Financing Program pilot; And whereas the current federal and provincial incentive programs are not fully addressing the capital cost barrier for many households, can be challenging to navigate and access, are temporary, and are not resulting in the rate of building retrofits necessary to meet CleanBC and local government climate targets; demonstrating the value of complementary local government PACE programs such as the Saanich Oil to Heat Pump Financing Program; And whereas the Province identified PACE as a priority in 2020, but has effectively put that action on hold, restricting local governments in BC from delivering PACE programs at scale and from accessing significant Federal funding administered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities which is available to local governments in other Canadian provinces that have enacted enabling PACE legislation, including Alberta, Nova Scotia and Ontario: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request that the Province prioritize and move to enact enabling Property Assessed Clean Energy PACE legislation in the immediate future.