Municipal Electric Champion Awards will highlight three Canadian municipalities with policies and actions dedicated to electrifying public and private vehicles
Municipal Electric Champion Awards will highlight three Canadian municipalities with policies and actions dedicated to electrifying public and private vehicles
Electric Mobility Canada has announced it will award three Canadian municipalities for their commitments to electromobility at its EV2020VÉ Conference and Trade Show in April.
Municipalities will be evaluated on the percentage of their budget being allocated to electrification, the extent to which their transit and municipal fleets have been electrified, and their deployment of vehicle charging infrastructure. Their programs and incentives to encourage businesses and residents to adopt EVs will also be measured.
The awards will be presented to cities in three classes: those with less than 50,000 people, between 50,000 and 200,000 people, and over 200,000 people. Last year, the inaugural awards were presented to Plessisville, Québec, Kingston, Ontario, and Montréal, Québec, respectively.
Municipal action is key
In terms of reduced emissions, the potential impact that vehicle electrification in cities can have is huge.
“At the national level, transportation is roughly 25 per cent of all emissions. But I’ve seen studies that say in large urban areas, it’s a much higher percentage,” says Al Cormier, Interim CEO of Electric Mobility Canada.
“Reshaping our cities to depend more on walking and public transport… [is] not going to happen overnight”
Al Cormier, Interim CEO, Electric Mobility Canada
“Most long-term solutions would require reshaping our cities to depend more on walking and public transport… but that’s not going to happen overnight. In the meantime, changing cars to electric motors is a much quicker way to reduce emissions from transportation.”
Additionally, the role that municipal policy can play in accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles has been proven to be significant.
A recent study by the International Council on Clean Transportation found that 42 per cent of all EV sales were accounted for by the 25 cities with the most electric vehicles, each of which has undertaken comprehensive policy measures to ensure adoption rates were maintained. Among the initiatives shared by many of these cities are robust public charging networks, tax incentives, and discounted or even free public parking offered for electric vehicles.
EMC will be accepting submissions from eligible municipalities until March 15th, and winners will be notified in April.
