Today's unveiled budget will harm the BC Liberal government's reputation as a leader on climate change policies, says Ben West, spokesperson for the Wilderness Committee, a B.C.-based environmental group claiming Canada's largest membership.

In a press release, West calls the budget "alarmingly short-sighted and irresponsible. There are no new ideas here, just the outdated policy emphasis of exploiting B.C.'s resources with little regard to living up to the province's commitments to tackle climate change."

The press release continues:

"The 2012 budget includes numerous subsidies to the oil and gas sector while continuing to drastically underfund environmental oversight. Spending on highway expansion projects yet again far exceeds allocations for public transit infrastructure and service while transportation emissions continue to be the leading source of green house gas emissions in the province.

"The budget also includes an upcoming review of the carbon tax while the dollars per tonne value remains the same. No new funding or tax credits are provided for housing retrofits, green building, or the carbon neutral public sector initiative."

West concludes that "B.C. is rapidly losing its reputation as a leader in the global campaign to address the challenges of climate change."

In November The Tyee published a 10-part series produced by The Tyee Solutions Society reviewing the results of the Climate Action Plan boldly introduced five years ago by then-BC Liberal premier Gordon Campbell. The Speech from the Throne pledged, "In 2007, British Columbia will take concerted provincial action to halt and reverse the growth in greenhouse gases."

Said West today, "Our greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets have now all but disappeared, despite the fact that the people of this province still care deeply about the impacts of climate change already being felt around the world."

David Beers is editor of The Tyee.