Greenhouse gas (GHG) modelling enables local governments to understand the GHG and energy implications of future development scenarios in their communities. As such, it guides the development of local government GHG targets, policies and actions in Official Community Plans (OCPs); Regional Growth Strategies (RGSs); Community Energy and Emissions Plans (CEEPs), and Integrated Community Sustainability Plans (ICSPs).
Local government planners are the key community participants in these community-scale energy and emissions modelling (CEEM) efforts. With practitioner support from the private sector, not-for-profits, academia and other levels of government, planners use CEEM to explore the GHG and energy implications of future land use development, and to actively engage their fellow financial and engineering colleagues, gaining insights and priorities from their community constituents, and direction from their elected officials.
Modelling Tools Comparison Matrix
Download the
Comparison of Community Energy and Emissions Modelling (CEEM) Tools Matrix for a high-level comparative snapshot of 11 active models and/or approaches that practitioners have been using to support local governments across BC. In addition,
Endnotes on the Matrix provide a short profile of each model, those local governments involved to-date and links to additional information.
The models and approaches in the Matrix were selected based on knowledge from the BC Modelling Community of Practice. The models and services provided by these organizations vary widely: covering one to a number of community sectors (e.g., buildings, transportation, solid waste); from parcel-level to region-wide applications for both small and large communities; from simple excel spreadsheets and user-friendly guides to sophisticated geospatial models, with interconnected land use and transportation policy implications; and with recommendations for local governments that range from a small listing of off-the-shelf policies to comprehensive, quantitative, customized reports.
The CEEM community continues to grow, and with it the sophistication and user-friendly nature of the models and their approaches. The Matrix showcases the following models and services in BC:
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CEEMAP – HB Lanarc-Golder
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CEEP-QuickStart – BC Hydro Power Smart and Community Energy Association
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CIMS Community – MKJ & Associates, Navius Research
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Climate Action Navigator – C2MP
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Community Energy and Emissions Analysis – Enerficiency Consulting
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CVRD Energy Resiliency and Forecasting Tool – CVRD and Ea Energy Analytics
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Energy and Emissions (E2) – Stantec
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GHGProof – Sustainability Solutions Group
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Green Building Model – Pembina Institute
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IEMOC Summary Tool – Canadian Urban Institute
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Spatial Community Energy, Carbon & Cost Characterization model (SCEC3 ) – Natural Resources Canada
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WCS Energy and Emissions Analysis Toolkit – Whistler Centre for Sustainability
Support Documents
Guidance on the Effect of Provincial Climate Policies at a Community-scale: This document is a high-level guide that interprets the potential impacts of a number of provincial climate action policies at the community scale: http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/cas/mitigation/ceei/pdf/Provincial-Climate-Poli...
Case Studies and Webcasts
The Province of BC and Smart Planning for Communities, a program of the Fraser Basin Council, present the following six case studies and webcasts. Each case study describes a distinct community-scale energy and GHG modelling tool highlighting the recent experience of five local governments in British Columbia.
Download case studies and webcasts from the table below:
The Province of BC and Smart Planning for Communities, a program of the Fraser Basin Council, would like to acknowledge the cooperation and contributions of those in Colwood, Prince George, North Vancouver City, Regional District of Central Kootenay, Fraser Valley Regional District, Jordan Fisher and Associates, Natural Resources Canada, UBC Design Centre for Sustainability, HB Lanarc, Stantec, and Sustainability Solutions Group in preparing these case studies and webcasts.
*Webcasts in .wmv format are compatible with a Windows PC environment, the .mov format works with an Apple Macintosh platform
Your Modelling Ad Hoc Working Group Contacts:
Mary Storzer: (250) 356-5515, Ministry of Community, Sport & Cultural Development
Ted Sheldon: (250) 387-1359, Climate Action Secretariat
Jessica Webster: (613) 992-9532, Natural Resources Canada
Ron Kellett: (604) 827-5144, University of British Columbia
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