BC Climate Emergency Campaign releases 2023 Climate Action Progress Report
BC Climate Emergency Campaign releases 2023 Climate Action Progress Report
Civil society groups issue annual assessment of the BC government’s implementation of 10 urgent climate actions to confront the climate emergency
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Livestream of 11:00 a.m. news conference can be viewed at: https://www.facebook.com/events/868778971259132/
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Unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-waututh) First Nations (Vancouver) | November 7, 2023 |
The BC Climate Emergency Campaign’s latest Progress Report, released today, warns that BC is not on track to meet its climate targets. Ongoing support for fracking and liquefied natural gas (LNG), and allowing thousands of new homes to connect to gas is undermining efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, locking in climate pollution for decades, according to the annual assessment of the BC government’s implementation of 10 urgent climate actions to confront the climate emergency.
While the BC government has made minor progress on seven out of 10 climate actions, incremental changes in policies lack the urgency required to confront the climate emergency.
The report acknowledges that many plans and policies are in development, with significant commitments to nature conservation and public transit, but BC’s climate emergency response has been mostly reactive as the climate crisis rapidly escalates. It’s time for the BC government to move from planning and promises to implementation on the ground.
The BC Climate Emergency Campaign – whose open letter to the BC government calling for 10 urgent climate actions to confront the climate crisis has now been signed by over 550 organizations spanning Indigenous, anti-poverty, agriculture, arts, health care, transportation, faith, youth, seniors, education, housing, business, community, local government, labour, tourism, outdoor recreation and environmental sectors – seeks to press the government to redouble its efforts to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and phase out fossil fuels.
The coalition of civil society groups is calling for the province to turn its official CleanBC plan into a genuine climate emergency plan through the speedy implementation of the 10 Actions outlined in the cross-sector supported Climate Action Progress Report.
Immediate and ambitious action, not incrementalism, is required to prevent full climate breakdown, warns the Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres. The International Energy Agency (IEA), in its recent World Energy Outlook 2023, has urged governments to agree to take measures for an orderly decline of fossil fuel use. The BC government is not heeding these urgent recommendations from international bodies.
In today’s Progress Report, the BC government was found to be making “minor progress” on climate actions related to transportation, buildings, ending fossil fuel subsidies, investing in a zero emissions economy, just transition measures, investing in regenerative agriculture, and protecting nature. However, it received a failing grade with respect to setting binding climate targets based on science and justice, tracking and reporting progress, and most notably in regards to rapidly winding down fossil fuel production and use.
The report highlights the continuing approval of new LNG plants and the ongoing permitting of thousands of new homes to use fossil gas as the central incoherence of CleanBC. The UN and IEA have made clear that there is no more room on a safe planet for new fossil fuel infrastructure.
The government granted environmental approval to the province’s third proposed liquified fossil gas facility (LNG) this year – Cedar LNG. The LNG produced by Cedar, once burned, will emit about 8 megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year—more than the entire city of Vancouver. And this month the government has opened public comment on a fourth LNG project that will produce nearly as much liquified natural gas as LNG Canada Phase 1, with the latter set to become the largest single source of emissions in BC and one of the five largest in the country. Combined, these projects require significant amounts of fracked fossil gas, and will produce 22.5 Mt CO2e per year of emissions locally – equivalent to burning 25 billion pounds of coal every year – even before the gas will be exported, shipped, and burned in another country.
Stalling action now, while also continuing to dig up, produce, distribute, and burn dirty fossil fuels, including LNG, will only cost BC more as climate impacts worsen. The BC Climate Emergency Campaign implores Premier Eby and the BC government to listen to the 550+ organizations demanding equitable, urgent climate action for the sake of British Columbians’ health, safety, and the future of our province.
QUOTES:
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs
“After experiencing a year of wildfires like this one, there is no denying the harms that climate change is doing to our communities and our lands. The climate emergency is in the process of destroying our ways of life and we’ve consistently shown that we’re not ready – not ready to protect people from the impacts of climate change, and not ready to rapidly transform the extractive economy that got us here. Piecemeal and incremental action is no longer enough. Everyone must act on their responsibilities to these lands and work to create a safer future, and support First Nations leadership in climate action.”
Bishop John Stephens, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster
“This past summer the wildfires in BC and other parts of Canada reminded us, if we needed any reminding, that we are living in a climate emergency. Our dependence on carbon needs to change and change quickly. This can only happen with the leadership and focus of governments at all levels. For us in the Anglican Church this is a spiritual, social, and justice issue that needs our full attention.”
Tracey Saxby, Executive Director, My Sea to Sky
“BC is not on track to achieve its climate targets, and is failing to demonstrate adequate progress for the goals and targets embedded in CleanBC. While some progress has been made, implementation must accelerate to meet the “fierce urgency of now.” We are facing an extraordinary challenge that requires extraordinary leadership. We’re calling on the BC government to step up. The good news is we know exactly what we need to do—we need to stop burning fossil fuels. The solutions we need already exist, and the ten urgent climate actions outlined in our open letter are a good place to start. We need to act now.”
Seth Klein, Team Lead, Climate Emergency Unit
“The speed and scale of the government’s current approach is incongruous with the climate emergency we face, and the greenhouse gas reduction targets do not align with what science and justice demands. The government’s strategy is also overly focused on extreme weather response, adaptation and community resilience; an approach that will see us forever facing escalating crises and extreme weather events with deadly and costly consequences. The severity of recent extreme weather events, however, create a political opening—the conditions exist for the BC government to be the climate leaders our children need them to be. This is a moment to confront both the climate crisis and the corporations who are fueling it.”
Dr. Melissa Lem, President, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and family physician
“Whether it be extreme heat filling emergency rooms with deadly heat stroke, or wildfire smoke driving asthma exacerbations and mental health crises, the climate emergency is the greatest health emergency we face. We need the provincial government to step up with meaningful regulations and investments to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy that comes with so many health co-benefits: cleaner air to breathe, safer streets and more secure, healthier food systems. Let’s act now to protect our health and health systems.”
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Images and Resources
The 2023 Climate Action Progress Report is available at: https://bcclimateemergency.ca/progress-report
Images and photo credits of speakers at the news conference will become available in this online folder.
About the BC Climate Emergency Campaign
The BC Climate Emergency Campaign is a group of civil society organizations, anxious about the climate emergency, that are collaborating to increase the ambition of climate policy and action in B.C. We are not a formal coalition, but have chosen to work together on a joint campaign. Signatories include agriculture, arts, business, community, education, environment, faith, food producers, health, housing, Indigenous, labour, local government, outdoor recreation, research, seniors, tourism, and youth organizations.
Backgrounder
The scores for the 10 urgent climate actions called for by the BCCEC are as follows. The rationales can be found in the report:
Set binding climate targets based on science and justice – FAIL
Invest in a thriving, regenerative, zero emissions economy – MINOR PROGRESS
Rapidly wind down all fossil fuel production and use – FAIL
End fossil fuel subsidies and make polluters pay – MINOR PROGRESS
Leave no one behind – MINOR PROGRESS
Protect and restore nature – MINOR PROGRESS
Invest in local, organic, regenerative agriculture and food systems – MINOR PROGRESS
Accelerate the transition to zero emission transportation – MINOR PROGRESS
Accelerate the transition to zero emission buildings – MINOR PROGRESS
Track and report progress on these actions every year – FAIL
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Contact
Allison Murray | Communications Associate
T 604-442-1846
E allison@MurrayCommunications.org