Last year, Lytton, BC set the new all-time Canadian heat record at 49.5ºC. BC faces risks of severe wildfires, rising sea levels and melting glaciers. In 2023, the UN said the world is not on track to limit warming by 1.5ºC, though such limiting is needed to avoid the climate crisis’s worst impacts — which can affect us in BC.
The Ubyssey summed up each party’s platform to help UBC community members make an informed vote.
BC Conservative Party
The BC Conservative Party, led by John Rustad, are running an economy-based climate platform with plans to increase resource extraction and repeal existing climate policies.
The party is focusing on increasing mining and forestry industries, and Rustad said he wants to reintroduce nuclear energy, according to Global News, and cut BC’s carbon tax. Rustad also revealed the party’s climate plan would increase liquified natural gas (LNG) export projects and remove emissions-intensity caps.
LNG has lower emissions than coal but requires more energy to liquify the gas. Climate experts have said neither LNG nor nuclear power substitutions are long-term solutions. Rustad’s increased mining proposition also comes with problems like deforestation, water contamination and impacts on Indigenous groups’ land rights.
Repealing BC’s carbon tax would also harm the climate.
“If the tax disappears, so will about $1.6 billion worth of revenue that the provincial government … spends on various other, especially climate-related, programs,” said Dr. Kathryn Harrison, a UBC political science professor and environmental policy specialist, in an interview with The Ubyssey.
In May, Rustad said the Conservatives would repeal BC’s protection of 30 per cent of its land base for forestry or agriculture development by 2023.
Additionally, streamlining industry-permitting processes could have unforeseen consequences.
“When parties talk about eliminating regulations and red tape, it’s always good to ask, ‘Which of those steps are you going to eliminate?’” said Harrison. “In practice, there’s reasons for them.”
In August 2022, Rustad was removed from the BC Liberal caucus for questioning climate crisis science. He backtracked those statements in 2023, but still maintains the climate crisis “is not at crisis level,” according to September reporting from CBC.
BC Green Party
The BC Green Party is pledging to keep the carbon tax, invest in climate adaptation measures and restrict fossil fuel infrastructure. Leader Sonia Furstenau also vowed to focus on having industries pay more.
“We want to make sure you see real benefits, whether that’s through a bigger rebate cheque or by investing in projects that make your community better and more sustainable,” read a September 25 press release.
The party committed to protecting water resources, implementing retrofits and monitoring air quality under the Clean Air Act.
Furstenau said the Greens would not approve new LNG or fracking projects and plans to invest in renewable energy.
LNG use and fracking both harm the climate, with fracking in particular being extremely environmentally-damaging. Proposals to ban both of these technologies would benefit BC’s environment. However, BC is showing increases in power demands, which the Greens may struggle to combat using solar energy.
Furstenau’s carbon tax could reduce what some climate experts call the “cost of inaction," which some estimate could total $17 billion annually, according to Canada’s National Observer. Climate measures, like those funded by the tax, would reduce total taxpayer costs.
BC NDP
The party — led by Premier David Eby — plans to continue working on CleanBC, the party’s climate plan, which includes biodiversity and climate adaptation initiatives.
According to its website, the BC NDP have invested $1.1 billion into building climate resilient communities, planting millions of trees and allocating $157 million for watershed protection.
CleanBC focuses on cleaner transportation, preparation for extreme weather and reducing substantial building and greenhouse gas emissions
The NDP’s energy framework focuses on capping oil and gas emissions, accelerating BC energy electrification and requiring LNG facilities to be net zero by 2030. CleanBC previously planned to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies by September, but the NDP has since extended the deadline to December 31, 2026.
In March 2023, Eby approved a new LNG terminal which critics said don’t match BC’s climate goals. Additionally, Harrison said “net-zero” facilities won’t do much since Canadian emissions counting doesn’t include downstream emissions, which LNG emits.
“When we talk about net-zero LNG, we’re not talking about the majority of the emissions from LNG,” said Harrison.
Eby also said his party would scrap the carbon tax if the federal government lifted its carbon pricing program requirement.
A 2023 progress report from the BC Climate Emergency Campaign noted CleanBC has only seen minor progress, and that removing provincial or federal carbon taxes harms climate targets.
This article is part of The Ubyssey's 2024 provincial elections coverage.
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