British Columbia
Last Updated: September 2023
Environmental stance of majority party:
Despite the provincial government acknowledging in their throne speech that “failing to match global action on climate change doesn’t just mean more climatic disasters. It also means we’ll miss the economic opportunity of a lifetime as our major trading partners look for low-carbon technologies, energy, resources, and solutions (5), the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission has 11 listed major projects on the website, including the controversial Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion project and the Coastal GasLink Expansion Project that lead to the violent arrests of Wet’suwet’en land defenders (6).
Check out this Shake Up the Establishment Resource: here.
Percentage of 2020/2021 budget estimated to be allocated to the environment:
Total 2023-2024 Estimated Budget: $81,206,000,000
Total 2022-2023 Estimated Spending: $79,108,000,000
Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness:
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Estimated Budget for 2023-2024: $100,783,000 (0.12% of the budget)
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Estimated 2022-2023 Spending: $479,095,000 (0.61% of the budget)
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$378,313,000 projected funding decrease from 2022-2023 to 2023-2024
Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Low Carbon Technology:
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Estimated Budget for 2023-2024: $128,536,000 (0.16% of the budget)
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Estimated 2022-2023 Spending: $151,559,000 (0.19% of the budget)
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$23,023,000 project funding decrease from 2022-2023 to 2023-2024
Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy:
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Estimated Budget for 2023-2024: $255,129,000 (0.31% of the budget)
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Estimated 2022-2023 Spending: $382,895,000 (0.48% of the budget)
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$127,766,000 projected funding decrease from 2022-2023 to 2023-2024
Ministry of Forests:
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Estimated Budget for 2023-2024: $925,117,000 (1.1% of the budget)
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Estimated 2022-2023 Spending: $1,047,808,000 (1.3% of the budget)
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$122,691,000 projected funding decrease from 2022-2023 to 2023-2024
Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation:
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Estimated Budget for 2023-2024: $188,262,000 (0.23% of the budget)
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Estimated 2022-2023 Spending: $170,619,000 (0.21% of the budget)
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$20,262,000 projected funding increase from 2022-2023 to 2023-2024 (7)
Main provincial-level legislation for environment protection:
Climate Change Accountability Act (CCAA) (2007):
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Legislated targets to reduce GHG emissions, accountability framework and requirements for the public sector (Carbon Neutral Government Program).
Carbon Tax Act (2008):
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Provides incentive for choosing sustainable alternatives that produce fewer emissions by putting a price on GHG emissions.
Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act (2016):
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Requires industry members to report their GHG emissions, provides regulations to control their emissions, and provides penalties for those who display non-compliance with the act.
Clean Energy Act (2010):
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Sets energy objectives for the province and mechanisms for clean and renewable energy, GHG reductions and switching fuel to lower-carbon-intensity energy.
Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Renewable and Low Carbon Fuel Requirements) Act (2008):
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Sets requirements for the use of renewable energy in transportation fuel and displays B.C.’s commitment to adopt a low-carbon fuel standard.
Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Emissions Standards) Statutes Amendment Act (2008):
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Focuses on reducing GHG emissions from particular industrial operations, and increasing opportunities in the bioenergy sector.
Local Government (Green Communities) Statutes Amendment Act (2008):
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Supports local governments in reducing GHG emissions, conserving energy and building sustainable, compact communities.
Utilities Commission Amendment Act (2008):
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Urges public utilities to reduce GHG emissions and generate and acquire electricity from clean or renewable sources.
Energy Efficiency Act (1996):
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Sets energy standards for devices that use, control or affect the use of energy (e.g. appliances, heating/cooling systems, lighting, industrial equipment).
Building Code Amendments and Regulations (2014):
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Requirements for energy efficiency for houses and small buildings. (8)
Zero-Emission Vehicles Act (2019):
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An Act enforcing regulations on the automotive industry to increase the production of zero-emissions vehicles within the province in efforts to achieve the goals of 10% of all light-duty vehicles by 2025, 30% by 2030, and 100% of all light-duty vehicles being zero-emissions vehicles by 2040 (9).
Specific government-based environmental programs:
CleanBC Roadmap to 2030:
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The provincial government’s climate action plan that sets out the province’s next decade of climate action, including how they plan to meet emissions reduction goals like being net-zero by 2050 (10).
Next election date:
The next provincial election for BC is scheduled to occur on or before October 19th, 2024 (12).
Fun Facts:
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Intending on continuing with their CleanBC strategy from 2018, with plans to improve the accessibility of sustainable transportation through increasing affordability and availability of electric cars and e-bikes (13).
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BC is home to approximately 11.1 million hectares of old-growth forests that are currently under attack by industries hoping to take advantage of them as resources (14).
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The British Columbia provincial government has committed to stop applying Provincial Sales Tax (PST) to used zero-emissions vehicles, as well as increasing the luxury tax threshold on new zero-emissions vehicles. Both of these measures act as incentivizing tax breaks to encourage the purchase of both new and used zero-emissions vehicles (15, 16).
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Carbon Tax Revenue in the 2022 Provincial Budget is estimated to be $2,311,000,000 (17).
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Premier David Eby, has verbally committed to protecting 30% of the province’s natural land spaces by 2030, matching the federal government’s country-wide goal (18).
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In line with this goal, Premier Eby has announced a new 58,000 hectare conservation area in the Incomappleux Valley, protecting the inland temperate rainforest there, including cedar trees that are over 1,000 years old (19).
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A coalition of environmental groups are currently undertaking a campaign to sue big oil companies for costs of damages due to climate change. This project began in 2022, and is urging local governments to put aside money per resident to launch a class action lawsuit (20).
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In order to address the multitude of climate events that have, and will continue to impact the province, the provincial government has instituted a new Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, as well as promising to release a New Emergency and Disaster Management Act (21).
Check out this Shake Up the Establishment Resource: here.
