Dear Sir:
On April 13, 2015, Premier Christy Clark challenged other jurisdictions to meet or exceed BC actions on climate change.
According to data from Environment Canada, National Inventory Report 2014, changes to provincial GHG emissions since 2005, BC ranks No. 7 out of 10 (our ten provinces). I am not a math expert, but if you are No. 7 out of 10 are you a leader?
The B.C. carbon tax brings in $1.2 billion per year but almost all of its goes to reducing other taxes with only about $ 50 million per year to carbon reduction, like the Climate Action Revenue Incentive Program and that program covers only reductions by municipal government operations.
Currently the province is looking for input from anybody, until noon March 25, 2016, on how to reduce emissions. On the province’s website it states: “To lessen the severity of climate change, we must reduce our emissions.” And “We can continue to transition to communities that use less energy and to an economy more reliant on clean energy sources.”
How about expanding the Climate Action Revenue Incentive Program so that anybody who reduces their emission receives the same monetary benefit as the local governments and give the municipalities were the reduction occurs the same amount of money. Our local governments have to balance their budgets by law and sure could use a bit of extra money for looking after their citizens.
Martin Holzbauer, Thornhill, B.C.