Image by Gerd Altmann, Pixaby.
Andrew Radzik, Energy Campaigner at Georgia Strait Alliance, responds to the Province’s CleanBC Roadmap announced today, saying:
“People across BC felt the climate crisis this year. Hundreds died during the Heat Dome event, thousands were evacuated due to wildfires, and hundreds of thousands faced choking smoke. We desperately need a bold and detailed plan to meet our climate target.
“That’s not what we got today.
“Instead of a comprehensive map of climate actions, BC has put forward yet another incomplete climate plan. Right now we do not know how we will meet our legislated climate targets for 2025 or 2030. There are a number of good policies, but they are combined with gaps, placeholders, and plans for more planning.
“Most importantly, it does not contain a timeline for a phase out of oil and gas production and a transition plan for workers. California and Quebec are listening to climate science, and have committed to phasing out all fossil fuel extraction. Rather than follow suit, BC proposes industry-friendly consultation and a plan for the sector sometime in 2023. This means more delays until we see real reductions in carbon pollution from the oil and gas sector.
“The Premier’s attachment to fossil fuel production is well known: he’s lavished billions in subsidies on fracking and to the LNG Canada project. The Oil and Gas industry now makes up 21% of BC’s emissions, larger than all other industries in the province combined, while providing only 0.5% of jobs. The science of climate change is clear: we must halt the expansion of new fossil fuel infrastructure and phase out production to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. We cannot meet our climate targets if Premier Horgan continues to give special treatment to this industry.
“BC has been promising a complete climate plan since 2018. They have once again failed to provide one. Saying we’ll sort out the details later is not good enough. We are in a climate emergency, and it’s time for Premier Horgan and his government to act like it.”
Georgia Strait Alliance is one of more than 240 signatories to the Confront the Climate Emergency Declaration, which sets out 10 actions for the development and implementation of a transformative climate emergency plan
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