Vancouver named city, global and people’s choice champion –

The City of Vancouver was today named Global Earth Hour Capital 2013 by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) at an awards ceremony in Malmo, Sweden, one of three prestigious awards given to the city.

The Global Earth Hour Capital award recognizes a city taking serious action to address climate change. As the Canadian winner of a WWF Green City Challenge Award, Vancouver was in contention for the Global Award with finalists from India, Italy, the United States, Sweden and Norway.

Voters from around the world also selected Vancouver as the People’s Choice winner out of the 17 cities who were national WWF Green City Challenge finalists.

“Being named the WWF’s Global Earth Hour Capital is an exceptional honour for Vancouver and more international validation of our comprehensive efforts to be the world’s greenest city,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson.

“Even as national governments fail to act, it’s essential that cities continue to lead the way in confronting climate change, and Vancouver’s progress demonstrates that building a greener city also fosters a stronger local economy.”

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The City of Vancouver and Vancouver Foundation today announced the 17 recipients of the 2012 Community Grants from the Greenest City Fund, who will receive a total of $391,500 in funding.

Co-funded by the City and the Foundation, the Community Grants are part of the Greenest City Fund — a four-year, $2 million fund that supports community-led green projects in Vancouver.

“We invited local organizations to come up with their best ideas on how to help make Vancouver the greenest city in the world by 2020,” said Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson. “These grants are designed to support community-based organizations that are working towards Greenest City goals.

“And today, at Vancouver Technical Secondary School, along with Fresh Roots Urban Farm Society, we are kicking off one of 17 such projects around the city. With a grant of $35,000, students at ‘Van Tech’ and David Thompson Secondary will develop schoolyard market gardens that will serve as outdoor classrooms for students and teachers, and provide produce to go into school cafeterias to provide healthy, nutritious lunches for fellow students.

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Vancouver has been ranked the most most walkable city in all of Canada by Walkscore, a Seattle-based urban app company which compared over 300 Canadian cities and communities.

With a Walkscore of 78, Vancouver placed ahead of other leading cities including Toronto (71), Montreal (70), Mississauga (59), and Ottawa (54).  Vancouver’s best-scoring neighbourhoods for walkability were Downtown (96), the West End (94), Strathcona (93), Kitsilano (89) and Fairview (89).

“It’s great to see Vancouver recognized as the top walking city in Canada,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson. “Making it easier and safer for people to walk is a key part of our greenest city and transportation goals. Being known as a great walking city is an economic boost as well, for tourism, for local businesses, and for savings in health care.”

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Vancouver City Council passed the 2012 City Operating Budget tonight at a Special Council Meeting, investing in affordable housing, parks and recreation services, and libraries, as part of a forward-looking fiscal plan for the coming year.

“Even in the midst of a challenging economic climate and a $52 million budget gap, we’ve delivered a budget that is balanced, progressive, and pragmatic,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson. “This budget fully protects and supports programs that impact Vancouver’s most vulnerable, including priority investments for homelessness and affordable housing, child care and seniors. We’re protecting all funding and support for arts and culture programming, continuing our support for Vancouver’s Greenest City goals, and increasing support for Vancouver’s public libraries and parks and recreation services.”

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 The City of Vancouver today launched an $800,000 city-wide pilot project that will bring electric vehicle charging stations to diverse locations around Vancouver, thanks to investments from the Governments of Canada and British Columbia, BC Hydro, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the City itself.

The Charge and Go Vancouver Trial will see the installation of up to 67 Level I (110V) and Level II(240V) electric vehicle (EV) charging stations throughout the city by the end of 2013, helping to accelerate the use of plug-in EVs in Vancouver. These will provide motorists with significantly more charging options than currently exist and will enhance the local EV charging network.

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The City of Vancouver was proud to accept a prestigious national award today when the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) named Vancouver a winner of a 2012 FCM Sustainable Communities Award for the City’s Greenest City 2020 Action Plan (GCAP).

Councilor Andrea Reimer accepted the award on behalf of the City at a reception and awards ceremony during FCM’s Sustainable Communities Conference in Ottawa, Ontario.

The FCM award recognizes the GCAP for its achievement in the Planning category, which celebrates sustainable community plans that establish a vision for sustainability, integrate sustainability issues across municipal departments and service areas, and set environmental targets for the municipal government and the community.

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