Climate change remains an urgent and complex challenge in the midst of the current global pandemic. Several municipalities in BC have declared a state of emergency over the climate crisis. As British Columbians are becoming accustomed to forest fire seasons and the accompanying smoke, many are also taking individual actions to help mitigate this crisis. At the same time, fighting the emergency will require action from the next government of British Columbia.
Here is a summary of what some of the BC political parties are proposing to do this election cycle to address climate change:
BC Liberal Party
The BC Liberals have proposed to1:
- Encourage the retrofitting of homes and businesses to create jobs and reduce energy costs,
- Reduce the impact of climate-related disasters like wildfires and floods,
- Expand public transit options,
- Support investments in more electric vehicle charging stations across BC,
- Support investments in renewable energy and next-generation clean energy and technology solutions, including leveraging innovations and research in carbon capture,
- Ensure a comprehensive greenhouse gas strategy that reduces emissions while enabling sustainable resource development and Indigenous land use,
- Ensure that decisions in every Ministry are made with environmental improvement as an overarching goal,
- Improve provincial building codes to maximize energy-efficiency, and
- Work with the federal government to review scheduled increases in the Carbon Tax.
BC NDP
The BC NDP has proposed to2:
- Provide an income-tested incentive to purchase a new or used electric vehicle and increase public vehicle charging spaces,
- Remove the PST on the purchase of an e-bike,
- Introduce a province-wide ban on single-use plastics,
- Invest in new strategies to better protect wildlife and habitat spaces,
- Create a watershed security strategy to plan, manage, and protect local watersheds, while making sure BC gets a fair rate for bulk sales of water,
- Seek partnership with the Federal government to establish a Watershed Security Fund to fund Indigenous and regionally led clean water initiatives,
- Make sure that owners of large industrial projects pay for the full cost of environmental cleanup if their projects are abandoned,
- Introduce legislation requiring BC to reach net-zero by 2050,
- Invest in BC-made carbon capture technology,
- Continue efforts to ensure that every new building constructed in BC produces net-zero emissions,
- Empower local governments to set performance standards for new buildings,
- Incentivize more energy-efficiency upgrades for both residential and commercial buildings,
- Get more BC industrial transportation off of fossil fuels, including having a full net-zero emissions bus fleet,
- Provide additional funding to industry to reduce harmful emissions and move to cleaner operations,
- Employ world-leading regulations and technologies to detect and reduce harmful methane emissions,
- Work with the Federal government and BC Hydro to expand electrification infrastructure, and
- Conduct a comprehensive review of oil and natural gas royalty credits.
Green Party of BC
The Green Party of BC has proposed to3:
- Commit to making BC carbon neutral by 2045 and set interim targets to ensure that the government is on track,
- Set sectoral targets to ensure that each industry is contributing its fair share to emissions reduction,
- Immediately end oil and gas subsidies and redirect funds toward innovation, helping businesses grow and ensuring that we meet our climate commitments,
- Prioritize natural climate solutions, including protecting and restoring forests and wetlands to maximize their potential as carbon sinks,
- Enhance the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate to
- Require 100% ZEV in non-commercial vehicle sales by 2035,
- Set new ZEV targets for commercial vehicles with incentives,
- Require BC government agencies to shift to 100% ZEV by 2030,
- Accelerate the electrification the transit system,
- Build out the public charging infrastructure on highways, and
- Remove the PST on the purchase of ZEVs,
- Support more electric vehicle charging in multi-unit buildings,
- Establish a clean jobs plan creating thousands of jobs to enhance and restore BC’s natural assets, remediate environmental liabilities, and improve community resilience to climate change,
- Increase short-term incentives offered to stimulate home retrofits, and
- Remove PST when purchasing e-bikes.
References
- BC Liberal website: Restore Confidence. Rebuild BC. October 13 2020.
- BC New Democratic Party website: John Horgan’s Commitments to BC. Oct 7th, 2020.
- BC Green Party website: The BC Green’s Plan for a more Equitable and Sustainable BC. October 13 2020.
For additional information on our Quick Snips! series, see the introduction post.
Page last updated October 14, 2020