Why your next car might be electric
British Columbia could be home to between one and 1.3 million electric vehicles by 2030 —
one of the highest electric vehicle adoption rates in North America. If that many electric
vehicles were on the province’s roads right now, oil demand would be reduced by about 12
million barrels per year — more than twice the amount of oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico
during BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster — and B.C.’s annual greenhouse gas emissions would
be reduced by seven per cent, or 4.7 million tonnes.

Why is everyone talking about electric vehicles?
The term “electric vehicle” can apply to a battery electric vehicle, a plug-in hybrid — or even a
hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle. In this backgrounder, we focus on plug-in electric vehicles.
Electric vehicles (EVs) are designed to be powered, in whole or in part, by electricity from the
power grid. There are two categories of EVs. A battery EV is solely powered by batteries, while a
plug-in hybrid EV can run on electricity, fuel or a combination of the two. EVs have been a hot
topic in the past few years as technology has improved and the search for climate change
solutions has accelerated. The Lower Mainland of British Columbia has been a hot bed of
discussion and activity around EVs. B.C. is one of the most promising places in North America
for their adoption because of five key reasons:

1. Electrifying B.C.’s transportation would significantly reduce the province’s greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions.

• Current transport by fossil fuels is dirty— Personal transportation accounts for 14% of GHG
emissions in the province. In an average B.C. household, almost half (45.3%) of
emissions come from personal cars and trucks.

• B.C. is committed to clean electricity— The province is currently producing about 93% of its
electricity from clean or renewable resources with plans to have all remaining GHG
emissions offset by 2016. Electricity generation from renewable sources has other
environmental impacts, but these can be minimized if new projects are well planned
and regulated.

2. B.C. has the most ambitious carbon tax in North America, which will make EVs powered by
renewable energy increasingly affordable as the tax increases over time.

3. B.C.’s population is largely concentrated in urban areas (73%) and 95% of all car trips are less
than 30 km.

4. British Columbians have switched to hybrid vehicles at double the rate of the Canadian
average.

5. B.C. has local governments highly supportive of EV adoption:

• Vancouver building by-laws — The city of Vancouver has required dedicated EV charging
circuits in all new single detached homes since 2008 and in 20% of parking stalls in multiunit
residential buildings and off-street bike parking since 2009.

• Local governments are interested — Many local B.C. governments have included EV goals in
their community environmental plans and are participating in an EV community
advisory group organized by the province.

• Agreements with major automakers — The City of Vancouver has been actively encouraging
automakers to bring their EVs to the Lower Mainland as soon as possible. Agreements
have been struck with Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi.

• Project Get Ready — The British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) has joined forces
with the City of Vancouver and the Rocky Mountain Institute to help Lower Mainland
communities prepare for the use of EVs. Project Get Ready Vancouver will see BCIT
champion the development of a five-year plan of action aimed at making the Lower
Mainland EV ready.

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