B.C. residents increasingly worry about climate change, poll finds

With polls suggesting voters are tuned in to the problem of climate change as the federal election approaches, party leaders have clambered to position their parties as being best suited to deal with problem.

Three of the country’s four major party leaders have thrown their weight behind rallies, marches and conferences on climate change, as the NDP’s Jagmeet Singh did Tuesday during a climate caucus at Vancouver City Hall. Most major parties have also unveiled climate-change platforms.

But some argue the plans and the talk do not go far enough, and recent polling in B.C. suggests voters may be ahead of the politicians when it comes to climate action.

Seth Klein, an adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University, is a former head of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives which commissioned a recent poll that found 77 per cent of B.C. residents were “really anxious” or “increasingly worried” about climate change.

About 84 per cent of B.C. respondents said climate change represented a major threat to the future of their children and grandchildren, and 57 per cent said the government was doing too little to combat it.

Residents in B.C. were among Canada’s most supportive of federal actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to the findings of the Policy Alternatives poll, which was done by Abacus. That included measures like ending the use of coal to generate electricity, phasing out fossil fuels, and requiring energy-efficient buildings.

Klein commissioned the survey for a book he is writing, but he said he decided to release the findings now, ahead of an election in which he believes climate change policy will play a central role.

“I wanted to release it now because I think what it says to political parties is up your game,” Klein said.

Of the plans released to date, Klein said he liked those of the NDP and Green party.

The NDP plan is focused on support for clean energy practices and jobs, while the Greens propose to nearly eliminate fossil-fuel use in Canada by mid-century.