Port Moody’s outspoken mayor believes the Metro Vancouver committee he chairs should be leading the way in preparing the region for peak oil.

“When it comes to Metro Vancouver’s environment and energy committee, I don’t want us to be a follower; I would like us to be a leader,” Joe Trasolini told the Straight by phone.

Earlier that day (March 16), the committee voted to receive for information a Metro policy and planning report that offered a brief analysis of how Metro Vancouver’s current policies address “the dual challenges of peak oil and climate change”. Peak oil refers to the point at which global oil production peaks, after which it goes into decline. Most estimates pinpoint this as happening between 2005 and 2010, the report states. Metro senior policy analyst Ann Rowan and regional planner Jason Smith authored the paper.

“At some point, the scarcity of fossil fuels will make energy so expensive that the community, the province, the country that is weaning itself from fossil fuel will be financially better off and the economy will be healthier,” Trasolini said. “The area of the world that leads in this area will find itself in a very healthy economic climate.”

The report states that in terms of planning, that the issue is how sudden the decline in production will be and how that will be reflected “in the price of oil and related products”. The most likely outcome is greater price volatility, according to the report. For example, in January 2005, a barrel of crude oil cost $42, whereas by July 2008 the price had soared to $147. In April 2009 it dropped to $40, and in February 2010 it climbed to $79.

“This kind of saw tooth pattern with a general upward trend in oil prices is the expectation under peak oil,” the report states.