CleanBC Plan: Details of $1.2 billion in the 2022 budget

This new funding is on top of the $2.3 billion previously pledged CleanBC to relieve greenhouse gasesgreenhouse gases in all sectors. Nearly a third of this new funding will go toward cleaner transportation.

As part of the plan CleanBCBy 2030, it is expected that 90% of all new light vehicle sales in the province will be zero-emissions. According to Environment Minister George Heymann, the goal is for all new light vehicles in circulation to be non-polluting by 2035.

To achieve this, the province is waiving the provincial sales tax on zero-emission used cars through 2027. Rebates for purchases of zero-emissions vehicles and assistance with installing chargers, as well as an exemption from the motor fuel tax for hydrogen-powered vehicles, are also planned.

According to Aloïs Gallet, a lawyer and economist who specializes in environmental issues, electric vehicles are solving part of the problem, namely regional and national goals to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.₂but this It does not solve the problem of climate change .

Alos Gallet explains that cars, even electric ones, should be made of mined metal and he wants policymakers to rethink cities designed only for cars. You have to think about sobrietyHe said.

Finance Minister Selena Robinson defends her budget It provides significant investments to help us combat climate change and make it easier and cheaper for people, communities and industries to make climate-smart decisions.

Industries will receive $310 million to support the energy transition and innovation, with tax breaks and incentives. Ten million dollars will be invested in particular to divert plastic waste and reduce emissions from landfills.

British Columbia is investing $10 million to reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in landfills.

Photo: iStock

The county is also adopting a new climate action program for local governments that will provide them Flexible and predictable financing to meet local needsAccording to a statement issued by the province. Granted $76 million over 3 years, it will support municipal environmental initiatives.

Thirty million dollars will help them build active transportation projects such as bike paths and multi-use trails.

This funding is for Federation of British Columbia Mayor Laurie Ann Rodenburg Predictable and flexible It meets the needs of municipalities and allows them to assess their priorities. This financing is good newsshe said, because it would allow To be preventive, not reactive, in the face of climate change.

” When it comes to climate change, you need this long-term, predictable funding because your programs never stop at one year. to see progress [les programmes] It must be continuous. »

Municipal Affairs Minister Nathan Cullen explains that local governments At the forefront of the fight against climate change and [le] The government is committed to expanding its scope of work.

Finally, from 1^Verse April 2022, individuals who want to invest in a heat pump will be exempt from regional sales tax, and people who live in rural areas will be able to take advantage of government subsidies to make their homes more energy efficient. This will be possible thanks to the $43 million announced for the program CleanBC Better Homes, Better Buildings.

The Sierra Club Bc It indicates that adaptation to climate change is funded with $2.1 billion, compared to $1.2 billion for Reducing climate pollution.

The environmental group notes, following the publication of the new report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), that even if adaptation is necessary, Coping strategies become ineffective beyond certain dangerous levels of warming.

With information from François Macon and Chloé Durée de Pyrenees