ideas on climate action
Mon 14/09/2015 10:59 AM
To: Climate Leadership Plan ENV:EX;
...
Hello Climate Action Team!
Thanks for all your efforts in offering guidance to the BC government.
I sincerely hope that government takes your recommendations seriously.
I want to offer my support for the submissions to the team put forward
recently by Sierra Club BC and the Pembina Institute.
Specifically, I suggest that BC:
1. formally and explicitly include an assessment of downstream (and
especially end use) GHG emissions in the environmental assessment
process. BC should also call on the federal government to include such
an assessment in its own EA process, as well as those processes carried
out autonomously by federally designated agencies such as port authorities.
2. restart annual increases in the groundbreaking carbon tax, at the
rate of $10 per year. The application of the carbon tax should be
expanded to include any process (i.e. cement industry) and fugitive
(i.e. natural gas processing) emissions not currently covered. Any
further increases in carbon tax revenue should be split between i) a
rebate for low income BC'ers and ii) local emission reduction and green
energy projects, with an emphasis on public transportation infrastructure.
I would also suggest that the BC government delegate appropriate powers
to levy funds for public transit infrastructure to Metro
Vancouver/Translink, and fundamentally revise the governance structure
at Translink so that our region can properly fund and administer an
effective and efficient regional transportation system. The current
arrangement is untenable.
Finally, as a good faith gesture, I suggest government rescind its
unilateral declaration that natural gas is a "clean fuel" for the
purpose of LNG production. This self serving gesture makes it hard to
take their interest in climate action seriously.
Thank you for giving my ideas your consideration.
Voters Taking Action on Climate Change.