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CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR RETROFITS IN BURNABY

With research support from City of Burnaby staff, Task Force members studied relevant background information to support the development of their vision and recommendations. Eliminating emissions from Burnaby鈥檚 37,000 buildings by 2050 would require an average of 1,400 building retrofits annually over the next 27 years. Among the existing building stock, single-family houses, two-family houses and townhouses in Burnaby are responsible for 38 per cent of total building emissions, while retail and office buildings account for 36 per cent of building emissions. Low-rise and high-rise multi-family buildings are responsible for 10 per cent of building emissions while accounting for 55 per cent of the total units in Burnaby.

Retrofitting existing buildings can include measures for increased energy efficiency and fuel switching to zero-emission energy sources. Barriers to retrofits can include a lack of awareness that retrofits are required, a sense of overwhelming complexity about the retrofit process, the existence of upfront costs to the homeowner or occupant before they even know if they can proceed, a lack of qualified people to carry out retrofit work and challenges meeting requirements to access existing rebate programs.

Retrofits can also protect people and buildings against extreme weather events such as prolonged heat, floods and wildfires, and can result in improved indoor air quality through fuel switching from natural gas combustion to electric heating, cooling and cooking. Vulnerability to climate change hazards increases for people with existing health issues, seniors (65+), youth and children, people with disabilities and people who are pregnant. People with less adaptive capacity or less ability to access resources, networks or infrastructure in the face of climate shocks or stressors include (but are not limited to) those who are on a lower or fixed income, have limited physical mobility or reside in a difficult physical environment.