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The steps are a framework to help put the city’s recent declaration of a climate emergency into action. There is no cost analysis for the plan, however, New Westminster mayor Jonathan Coté says the steps allow council to prioritize the climate crisis when making decisions.

“We want a climate lens applied to every single budget request that comes through our budget and ultimately we want to make a strong statement that the action items and the items requiring resources that are able to help address these seven bold are going to be a higher priority to items that are not,” said Coté.

He admits one of the greatest challenges is going to be encouraging New West residents to ditch the gas-powered cars. He said the city needs an aggressive plan to support more transportation choices, and to increase access to electric-vehicle charging stations, including retrofitting older buildings with EV chargers.

New Westminster is unique in that it has its own electrical utility, and does not rely on BC Hydro, so Coté said the city will explore how it can provide energy on public streets to encourage people to switch to EVs.

“The reality is we don’t have the full pathway yet on how to get there and the resources, but we thought the first step was to look at the seven areas that local government is directly involved with and can shape.”

The city will also increase its tree canopy on streets and in parks to 27 per cent from 17 per cent, and will encourage residents to plant trees on their private property by possibly offering subsidies.