British Columbia has been making leaps and strides in developing its greenhouse gas policy over the past nine months. In February the Province released the 2007 Energy Plan, which announced a policy goal of energy self sufficiency, and carbon neutral generation. This was followed up a couple of weeks later with the 2007 Throne Speech and then the 2007 Budget.
Over the intervening nine months the government has attempted to work on this issue with the other Premier's of Canada, directly with Alberta's Premier, joined the WRCI and has entered into side agreements with Washington, Oregon and California.
September 28, 2007, Gordon Campbell announced British Columbia's plan for tackling climate change. Some of those goals include:
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Legislation will also be introduced next spring to allow for the creation of market mechanisms and make B.C. the first province in Canada to legally require “hard caps” on GHG emissions. Those caps will be used as part of a “cap and trade system” that is scheduled to be developed by next August through the Western Climate Initiative.
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Sectoral symposiums will take place to discuss GHG emission reduction strategies with forestry (Prince George), mining (Terrace) energy (Fort St. John) waste and landfills (Nanaimo) and agriculture (Kamloops).
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Further legislation will be introduced this fall to require all Province of British Columbia entities, including Crown agencies, to be carbon neutral by 2010. All public sector organizations, including school boards and health authorities, will be required by law to produce annual public reports on their progress.
*All government travel will be required to be carbon neutral starting this year.
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Starting this fiscal year, for every tonne of GHGs associated with official government travel, the Province will invest $25 in a new BC Carbon Trust.
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Greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategies and targets will be legally required in all official community plans and regional growth strategies.
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Municipalities will be given the power to waive development cost charges as a way to encourage green developments, small unit housing and small lot subdivisions.
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All new government buildings or facilities shall be built to a minimum LEED Gold or equivalent certification.
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Legislation will be introduced next spring to require the adoption of California tailpipe emission standards to be phased in from 2009 to 2016.
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B.C. will be the first province in Canada to legally adopt California’s low carbon fuel content standards, a requirement that will reduce carbon intensity of all passenger vehicles by a further 10 per cent by 2020.
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B.C. will implement a five per cent average renewable fuel standard for diesel by 2010 and support the federal government’s plan to increase the ethanol content of gasoline to five per cent by 2010.
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The Province will provide an additional $50 million this year for BC Transit to purchase new, clean buses and expand public transit service across B.C.
In the coming weeks, government will lay out a vision for transit. It will be on a scale and scope aimed at making B.C. a global leader in public transit.
Many of these were previously announced. Today however, Finance Minster Taylor gave us the first hint of the 2008 Budget. Carbon Taxes for British Columbians.
Details are very limited to date, with the prime example given being a tax on gas, or on the extraction or importation of oil.
As always, we'll keep you posted as we get more info on Canada's developing carbon regime.
