It’s still a long ways off, but the City of Kamloops is considering what a low-emission zone would look like.

Sustainability services supervisor Glen Cheetham says that could entail allowing low-emission vehicles only in certain areas, and charging a fee for larger emitters.

He admits it’s not something that would be viable this year or the next.

“That is kind of, certainly on the bleeding-edge type policy that typically has been used in urban centres like in London or in other urban areas where they have serious air quality issues. That type of policy could not be seriously considered until we sort of hit a critical mass where low-emission vehicles are becoming the norm.”

Cheetham says that according to studies, cost parity for electric and non-electric vehicles is expected by 2027.

Meantime, he says there are two key challenges in trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on a local level.

“That’s around commercial vehicles. Medium and heavy-duty vehicle traffic that originates in Kamloops, this area is still a bit of a challenge to predict how well we can rely on renewable energy sources to power those types of vehicles. And residential buildings, particularly the existing stock of older residential buildings, that can not realistically be retrofitted by 2050.”

City staff say 66 per cent of local greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation.