Transportation

Read about Metro Vancouver’s current climate action projects related to Transportation, search for technical data, and explore best practices from our region. You can also browse management plans and policies, and find links to what other cities, provinces and countries are doing to address climate change.

Read the Climate 2050 Transportation Roadmap here.

About This Priority

Metro Vancouver recognizes TransLink is the regional transportation authority responsible for planning, managing, and operating the regional transportation system. TransLink is responsible for long-term investments in regional transit as well as road and bridge infrastructure that enable low carbon transportation options.

Transportation emissions come from the movement of goods, materials and people, whether by land, air, or sea. Today, there are 1.4 million cars and trucks operating across the Metro Vancouver region, which emit more than 4.7 million tonnes of greenhouse gases (2015 data). Heavy duty vehicles, trains, ships, and airplanes accounted for about 1.8 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.

About 70% of personal trips in the region are made by vehicles, compared to 13% by walking and cycling, and 14% by transit. Significant effort is needed to shift trips to non-vehicular modes and transit, both of which have lower emissions.

Climate 2050: Transportation

Changing transportation reliance from cars and light trucks burning fossil fuels to transit, walking and low-carbon mobility will address what is currently the largest source of GHGs in this region.

Download a full description of this priority.

Anticipated Impacts

Warmer winters and less frost may improve road safety and increase opportunities to walk or cycle year-round.
Increased precipitation could cause temporary flooding of roads and transit assets.
Warmer temperatures, including increasing instances of heat waves, may affect the health and comfort of transit users.
Sea level rise and flooding may impact some transportation infrastructure.

Featured Story: City of North Vancouver Tackles GHG Emissions

Urban trails are part of the City of North Vancouver's efforts to reduce greenhouse gasses (GHGs) by getting people out of their cars, especially for short walking or bicycle trips.

Opportunities

In the region, transportation is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for approximately 45% of the regional total. The biggest contributors in the transportation sector are cars and light trucks.

The most significant contributions Metro Vancouver can make to emissions reductions will be made through a continued focus on maintaining the boundary for urban development and land use patterns that support sustainable transportation.

To achieve significant GHG reductions, it is also essential for the region to transition to low emission vehicles technologies. By 2050, even with a significant shift towards walking, biking and transit, vehicles are forecast to still be responsible for most kilometres travelled in the Metro Vancouver region.

Reducing emissions from the heavy duty vehicles, air, marine and rail sectors will require transitioning to low carbon fuels such as renewable diesel, renewable natural gas, and electricity.

Metro Vancouver is working with its members and partners like TransLink to develop programs, policies and regulations to address transportation emissions.

Learn More About Climate Change

Climate change is already affecting our planet and our region in profound ways, making our summers hotter and drier, our winters warmer and wetter, and increasing the occurrence of extreme weather events.

Learn More

Transportation

Climate 2050