CleanBC

A British Columbia cabinet minister says she mistakenly dropped a memo to herself describing a "big and shiny" affordability measure that mysteriously ended up in the hands of the Opposition BC United party.

Climate change is becoming a hot-button political issue in British Columbia with opposition parties launching election-style attacks on the New Democrat government's clean climate policies.

A campaign mounted by several B.C. climate and civil society groups is calling on the provincial government to set more ambitious climate targets and enact policies to reach them. “We are in deep doo-doo with respect to the climate crisis,” said Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs.

Incentives provided through the province’s CleanBC’s Better Homes program jumped from $3.6 million in 2020 to about $33.5 million in 2022. Those figures include money for air source heat pumps, upgrades to electricity services, insulation and more. That information isn’t publicly available and was provided to Canada’s National Observer by Ecotrust Canada, which received them through a FOI.

Premier David Eby needs to make sure rural and First Nations communities get affordable intercity transit, so they aren't left stranded in the drive to establish B.C.'s clean transportation network, a growing climate coalition says.

BC Ferries just got $500 million in funding to keep fares low and help electrify its fleet, but critics say the provincial announcement was heavy on climate rhetoric and light on concrete details or commitment.

The British Columbia government is temporarily suspending requests for electricity connections from cryptocurrency mining operations, saying the decision is aimed at preserving the power supply while supporting climate action and economic goals.

The NDP leadership hopeful who was ousted from her chance to compete for British Columbia's top political job says she's ready to take up an invitation to work with the man who will become the next premier.

British Columbia is increasing funding incentives for businesses to $10 million to develop products to reduce plastic pollution.

The CleanBC program uses two complementary carbon tax initiatives to encourage greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Titled “An Urgent Call to the BC Government to Confront the Climate Emergency,” the letter’s signatories include the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, Stand.earth, the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, and other faith, labour, youth, senior and community groups.

Reaction to the B.C. budget from clean energy think tanks and environmental groups in the province has ranged from, at best, tepid to, at worst, scathing.

"Abandoning biofuels as a major climate action in the transportation sector, as must be done, raises the question of how to reduce GHG pollution," writes Victoria-based transportation planning consultant Eric Doherty.

The British Columbia government is setting a new target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 after determining it is further from reaching its goals than previously forecasted.

Top income earners and pop drinkers were hit with new taxes in Tuesday's, February 18, 2020, B.C. budget, which continues the government's focus on capital spending for schools, hospitals and transit.