Environmentalists have low expectations for release of BC climate action plan
Posted August 18, 2016 10:42 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Environmentalists don’t have high hopes for BC’s new climate action plan, which is going to be released on Friday.
It doesn’t appear the new policy will include major recommendations made by a panel last year.
That panel wanted to see carbon taxes go up by $10 per year starting in 2018 and new emissions targets but an insider is suggesting that won’t happen.
Sven Biggs of environmental group Stand is hearing the province will adopt new ways of measuring carbon emissions.
“They are going to start calculating the carbon sequestered by planting more trees. That’s fine but they are not going to count the loss of forests that are cut. It’s not the best way to do carbon accounting.”
He says the current carbon tax system needs fixing because it favours some sectors.
“Industry is largely exempt from it, because the original plan included bringing in a cap and trade for those sectors. There are new industries like LNG coming online that have a huge carbon footprint.”
Biggs notes that while BC was a leader in adopting a carbon tax back in 2008, several provinces have since adopted similar measures and BC is now losing ground when it comes to fighting climate change.
