Today, the Province of BC unveiled its most robust plan ever to tackle climate change, incorporated into a Clean BC Plan. The strategy includes fully funded commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across multiple sectors and, notably, it includes legislation for climate accountability. The plan supports and makes mandatory for the provincial government to achieve 75 percent of the pre-Paris Accord 2030 reduction targets, and commits to closing the 25 percent shortfall within an 18-24 month window.
In response, the Executive Director of Georgia Strait Alliance, Christianne Wilhelmson, made the following statement:
“BC’s Clean BC Plan is a substantial step forward in its effort to address climate change, with measurable targets and clear accountability. This is among the leading plans in North America and shows the rest of Canada that tackling this crisis can be done in a way that’s good for our economy, our communities and our climate.
Perhaps the most notable element in today’s announcement is a Climate Change Accountability Act that will ensure the government is achieving its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and that the public be kept aware of progress through public reporting and oversight provided by a climate accountability advisory council. As we cannot afford any further delays in action, these and other accountability measures were critical pieces of the plan that Georgia Strait Alliance has been asking for and we are happy to have them included.
While the Plan does acknowledge the serious gap still to be addressed in reaching the pre-Paris Accord 2030 targets and a plan to address it, it doesn’t reflect the updated science that requires more actions to keep global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius, it lacks interim targets, nor does it recognize that we cannot continue to expand fossil fuel infrastructure in BC and meet our long-range targets.
However, today’s announcement shows we have a provincial government practising leadership, and Georgia Strait Alliance is committed to working with them to ensure that these issues are addressed.”