B.C. goes from a climate leader to a laggard
Other provinces are further ahead in reaching greenhouse gas reduction targets
Some provinces have already met their target for the 2030 greenhouse gas emission reductions that Canada committed to in the 2016 Paris agreement, an analysis by the National Energy Board shows.
Those provinces are Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, plus the Yukon territory. The two provinces have reduced emissions by 30 per cent by 2015 from 2005 levels, well ahead of the 2030 target date, according to the NEB data.
British Columbia lags behind. As of 2015, the province had reduced its carbon emissions by less than five per cent, according to the NEB figures.
There are provinces that have done worse. Alberta, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland, Manitoba and Nunavut have increased emissions since 2005.
Among the most populous provinces, Ontario had the greatest reduction, at just under 20 per cent. Quebec is down about 10 per cent and Prince Edward Island about 15 per cent.
“It is absolutely shocking that Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the Yukon are meeting their targets and B.C. is far behind,” said Merran Smith, executive director of Vancouver-based Clean Energy Canada, a climate and energy think-tank that advocates green energy.
“B.C. was once a climate leader, but with a lack of action in the past six, seven years after (former B.C. premier) Gordon Campbell left, there has really been no action to address climate change.”
British Columbia was the first jurisdiction in North America to introduce a carbon tax, in 2008 at $10 a tonne, when the province also adopted a clean energy plan that created opportunities for small hydroelectric and bioenergy projects. The carbon tax was frozen in 2012 at $30 and momentum on the clean energy plan stalled.
Business and industry interests said that was a prudent approach as B.C. was ahead of other jurisdictions with its carbon tax and as a small, open export economy, had to contend with the fallout from the global financial crisis in 2008.
The NEB analysis said factors such as population size, energy sources and economic base contribute to highly variable emissions among the provinces and territories.
Alberta, for example, had increased oil and gas production and higher than average population growth, which resulted in its emissions growing more than other provinces.
The NEB analysis noted that a legislated emissions cap for Nova Scotia Power led to increased electricity generation from natural gas and renewables while reducing coalfired generation.
Electricity demand in Nova Scotia also dropped 15 per cent from 2005 to 2015 because of decreased manufacturing activity.
Smith said she hopes there will be action on climate change in B.C. with a new NDP minority government set to take power, and the fact the Liberals supported increasing the carbon tax in its recent throne speech. The NDP is backed by the Greens resulting a one-seat majority.
Greg D’Avignon, president of the Business Council of B.C., said in a written statement that the council supports carbon tax increases so long as it remains in step with other jurisdictions, particularly in Canada and the United States.
The council, which represents 250 major businesses in B.C., including in the energy sector, cautions both the provincial and federal governments to be careful that regulatory change and increases to the carbon tax are not out of step with other jurisdictions, which would threaten the country’s export economy, said D’Avignon. “The result will be carbon leakage and a shift of market advantage to other jurisdictions,” he said.