The B.C. Liberal Party’s platform continues to demonstrate leadership on climate change but a gap remains in how the targets they have set will be achieved, according to the Pembina Institute.
“The reaction is a bit mixed,” said Matt Horne, BC energy solutions director for the organization.
He praised the commitments to the carbon tax, cap and trade legislation and continued ban on dirty coal-fired electricity, but said the party has failed to specificy how it will achieve the targets it has legislated to make up for the shortfall in actual expected reductions.
“What is intended to fill that gap has yet to be identified,” said Horne.
He also expressed concern over the Liberal’s energy plan, including the development of an energy corridor in the North and the opening of new gas fields.
Reaction to the Liberal climate plan by the David Suzuki Foundation was also mixed.
“Overall it maintains some of the policies that have maintained B.C. as a leader on climate change in Canada,” said Ian Bruce, climate change specialist for the organization.
But he faulted the plan for failing to provide for green infrastructure projects, which he said are a necessary part of emissions reduction.
“This plan here continues to invest in environmentally harmful projects such as highway expansion,” he said.
The climate change policies released by the B.C. New Democratic Party last week, especially the proposal to get rid of the carbon tax, have also received criticism from environmental groups, including Pembina, the Suzuki Foundation and ForestEthics.
Yesterday, representatives from the organizations jointly published an op-ed piece in the Vancouver Sun, highlighting their plea for the province to meet its emissions commitment to reduce annual carbon pollution by 37 million tonnes by 2020.
“The foundation for meeting these targets is the carbon tax,” wrote the enviromentalists.
“Without it, achieving our targets becomes almost impossible, which is why the B.C. NDP’s recently released platform needs to go back to the drawing board.”
Horne told The Hook he was disappointed in the failure of both party platforms to move the province forward in its emissions reduction targets.
“What we see is a step backwards by the NDP and nothing new from the Liberals. Neither party is entering the space where we need to be going,” he said.
Garrett Zehr reports for The Hook
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Skywalker
3 years ago
Sounds like..
...they are trying to regain some credibility by damning both sides. Too late guys.
Rod Smelser
3 years ago
Way too late
You're right Skywalker. It's way too late.
However, I don't think they're trying to regain credibility so much as to further the scam by doing something that in the minds of naive people will give them plausible deniability as regards as partisanship accusation.
How many people have read these blogs and know that the Ex-Dir is a major Liberal contributor, or that ex-model Berman is a business lobbyist for IPPs, not an environmentalist? Too few, that's how many.
So by keeing the scam going these groups will be able to say to Liberal strategists on election day that they kept the pressure on the NDP vote, which was their part of the bargain, just as it was during last fall's federal election.
freebear
3 years ago
Backpedaling their Eco-Bike!
Absolutely they are too late!
Their Eco egos is what it is all about, not to mention'green' consulting and being 'green' pitchmen/women for special interests!
MAC
3 years ago
Let's see their credentials
Ian Bruce has been many things, but now this latest incarnation as a "climate change specialist"????? Give me a break!
Lets see the credentials of these self appointed specialists before you publish their comments.
MAC
Janie Jones
3 years ago
Damage Control
Looks good on them in view of Campbell's stickhandling in O&G country to follow up all that green suck holing. Some kind of organized effort going on here?
Reading Elaine Dewar's book on the links between key environmental groups , government and corporations in the mid 90s started my movement away from any kind of environmental movement so to speak. Although, having said that, I have nothing but respect for the Wilderness Commitee's Joe Foy & Ken Wu, Rafe Mair, Ingmar Lee, Coleen McCrory, Vicki Husband and the many others who have and continue to toil and speak out thanklessly for the wild.
Stephanie T
3 years ago
Green Liberals.......
The only thing green about the liberals is all the U.S. dollars they get for selling us out to U.S. corporations.
When they took office in 2001,CO2 emissions from the production and extraction of oil and gas amounted to 9.4 million tons or 15.5% of all greenhouse gases in B.C. As of 2006, that amount had increased to 14.6 million tons or 23.4%. It leads one to wonder how much have they increased since then?
Rod Smelser
3 years ago
Ian Bruce
Let's see their credentials
MAC
Ian Bruce has been many things, but now this latest incarnation as a "climate change specialist"????? Give me a break!
MAC, I really don't know who Ian Bruce is, or what his educational background might be. You say he's done several things, can you elaborate a bit?
Campbellwearsatutu
3 years ago
I got it out there
http://www.cknw.com/stationshared/audiovault.aspx
I managed to let CKNW listeners(John Malcolm show) know about James Hoggan`s donation to the BC Liberals and about Hoggan`s company receiving 353.000.00$ in contracts from the BC Liberal goverment
cue up 3.00 pm and fast forward to about 3.44 ish the conversation was about the Carbon tax......
Cheers-EYES WIDE OPEN