TRANSPORTATION

Personal Vehicles

For many of us in Nanaimo, changing our CO2e output from driving, either by driving less or switching to an electric vehicle (EV), is one of the single biggest actions we can take to be part of the climate solution.

You can currently get up to $9000 in rebates when you purchase a new EV: Canada offers up to $5000 and BC increased its rebate up to $4000 in August 2022. With the price of gas at all time highs and unlikely to down in the near future, there has never been a better time to switch to an EV.

Here’s the math for switching from a fossil fuel powered mid-size car to an electric car:

• The average British Columbian drives about 13,100 km per year.

• The average mid-size car emits 0.2 kg CO2e per km.

• 13,100 x 0.2 = 2620 kg CO2e per year 

Here’s the math for reducing your usage of a fossil fuel powered mid-size car:

• The average mid-size car emits 0.2 kg CO2e per km.

• 200 kg C02E per 1000 km driven

For larger vehicles, such as trucks and larger SUVs:

• A 2021 Honda Accord uses about 7.2 liters of gas per 100 km (mixed city/highway).

• A 2021 Toyota Highlander uses about 10.3 liters per 100 km (mixed).

• A 2021 Ford F-150 uses about 10.8 liters per 100 km (mixed).

• Larger vehicles use about 50% more gas to travel the same distance.

• Larger vehicles emit about 50% more CO2e to travel the same distance.

• 300 kg CO2e per 1000 km driven

• Switching from a larger vehicle to an electric car = 2620 kg + 50% = 3930 kg CO2e.

Sources:

https://www.nanaimo.ca/green-initiatives/climate-action
https://www.thinkinsure.ca/insurance-help-centre/average-km-per-year-canada.html
https://www.CO2everything.com/how-we-calculate-km-of-driving
https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/sites/nrcan/files/oee/pdf/transportation/tools/fuelratings/2021%20Fuel%20Consumption%20Guide.pdf

Air Travel

While air travel only accounts for about 2% of the total global CO2e emissions, for those who fly frequently (more than once per month short haul and/or more than twice per year overseas), air travel is likely their single highest CO2e output, and joining the worldwide movement to commit to flying less is the most important action you can take to lower your CO2e output. More than one third of Canadians have reduced their frequency of flying to reduce climate impacts. 

Here are some examples:

Round trip Vancouver to Calgary: 174 kg CO2e
Round trip Vancouver to Toronto (economy): 492 kg CO2e
Round trip Vancouver to Toronto (business): 985 kg CO2e
Round trip Vancouver to London, England (economy): 790 kg CO2e
Round trip Vancouver to London, England (business): 1581 kg CO2e

Here’s the math for flying less:

Flying produces an average of 0.1 kg of CO2e per km of air travel.

= 100 kg CO2e per 1000 km of air travel

So what are the alternatives? Did you know Vancouver Island is bigger than Belgium and that BC is 3 times the size of Italy or Germany? There is a lot to explore!

Sources:

https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector
https://www.icao.int/environmental-protection/Carbonoffset/Pages/default.aspx
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/09/greens-most-concerned-about-climate-change-in-canada-poll-00005026