BC Takes Proactive Position on Climate Leadership

August 24, 2016

BC – The provincial government today unveiled the Climate Leadership Plan, leading to the creation of up to 66,000 jobs over the next ten years, and reducing net annual greenhouse gas emissions by up to 25 million tonnes below current forecasts by 2050.

The plan’s initial 21 action items include making electric vehicles more affordable and buildings more energy efficient. Government is also targeting sequestration opportunities in our forests and emission reductions in our natural gas production and processing. As demand for clean solutions increases, these actions continue to position B.C. for growth.

Emissions will be reduced further as subsequent actions are introduced, putting B.C. on course to achieve its 2050 target of an 80% reduction in emissions from 2007 levels.

The Climate Leadership Plan will be further updated over the coming year, in response to work underway between the federal government and the provinces and territories to develop a pan-Canadian approach to climate action. That work, under the Vancouver Declaration announced in March, covers four different areas of climate action including:

  • Clean technology, innovation, and jobs
  • Specific mitigation opportunities
  • Adaptation and climate resilience
  • Carbon pricing mechanisms

The Climate Leadership Plan will continue to be a living, dynamic document. Government will establish periodic progress reviews on meeting targets and will update the plan as necessary.

The plan reflects many recommendations made by the Climate Leadership Team and feedback received through two rounds of public engagement with stakeholders and citizens, as well as consultations with sector-specific industry groups.

British Columbia continues to have the highest and most comprehensive carbon tax in North America. In 2013, the province’s revenue-neutral carbon tax was frozen at $30 per tonne for five years, to allow other jurisdictions time to catch up with comparable carbon pricing mechanisms.

B.C. supports the adoption of the province’s $30/tonne carbon tax as the benchmark price across the country. As any effective price signal on carbon has to go up over time, B.C. also supports increasing that price together in an affordable way, once others catch up. As provincial and territorial governments are closest to their economies, they can fashion a carbon price mechanism that meets the needs of their own jurisdictions.

Revenue neutrality remains the core principle of B.C.’s carbon tax. The tax will increase only if it remains revenue-neutral and every dollar is returned to citizens in the form of tax relief. Additionally, a mechanism must be in place to keep industries that are emission-intensive and trade-exposed competitive with other jurisdictions.

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