'Incremental action is no longer enough': Coalition pushes B.C. to move faster on climate-change mitigation
2nd report by B.C. Climate Emergency Campaign shows province failing or making minor progress on 10 targets
A campaign launched two years ago by a network of advocates, businesses, academics and First Nations says British Columbia is still failing on three of 10 goals it wants the province to meet to mitigate the effects of climate change.
On Tuesday, the B.C. Climate Emergency Campaign released its second progress report, which grades the province on its progress in meeting its climate targets.
Only minor progress is being made on the other seven actions it's demanding, the report says.
"The climate emergency is in the process of destroying our ways of life and we've consistently shown that we're not ready — not ready to protect people from the impacts of climate change, and not ready to rapidly transform the extractive economy that got us here," said Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, at a campaign news conference in Vancouver on Tuesday.
"Piecemeal and incremental action is no longer enough."
The campaign, comprised of more than 500 members ranging from companies to environmental groups and Indigenous communities, originally sent a letter to provincial leaders in September 2021 to advocate for meaningful change that would protect B.C. from devastating wildfires, flooding and other emergencies related to climate change.
The group has been critical of the province's CleanBC plan, its roadmap for lowering emissions in the province by 40 per cent by 2030. The province has committed to reach net-zero carbon pollution by 2050.
The campaign's latest report on progress for the 10 actions it's demanding include fails for setting binding climate targets based on science; rapidly winding down all fossil fuel production; and reporting progress on these actions every year.
It said the province has made minor progress on initiatives such as protecting and restoring nature, investing in a zero-emissions economy, and transitioning to zero–emissions transportation and buildings.
The campaign is particularly critical of the province's ongoing support for fracking and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
It cited an environmental approval of Cedar LNG, the province's third proposed LNG facility this year, along with another in the works, LNG Canada Phase 1, as significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions.
"Continuing to dig up, produce, distribute and burn dirty fossil fuels, including LNG, will only cost B.C. more as climate impacts worsen," said the campaign.
B.C. released a new energy action framework in the spring to make sure oil and gas sector projects fit with its climate commitments.
Under the new framework, all proposed LNG facilities must pass an emissions test with a credible plan to be net zero by 2030.
On Tuesday, B.C. Environment Minister George Heyman acknowledged the report but said the province is making "steady progress" on climate action goals.
"We take these issues seriously and we're a leading jurisdiction in North America," he said from the B.C. Legislature on Tuesday morning.
Later this month, a climate change accountability report is expected from the B.C. government, outlining its progress on climate action under CleanBC.
In its 2022 progress report, the B.C. Climate Emergency Campaign said the province was failing to meet six of the 10 demanded actions and only making minor progress on the four others.
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