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Media Release/Communiqué
For Immediate Release: February 13, 2007
BCSEA Warmly
Welcomes BC Throne Speech's Green Plans
VICTORIA, BC-The BC Sustainable Energy Association (BCSEA)
welcomed the government's commitment to tackle global warming,
as part of its new Pacific Leadership Agenda.
"The government's new plans to tackle global climate
change offer far more than we expected", said Guy Dauncey,
BCSEA President. "It's not as much as we need, but by
emphasizing electrical self-sufficiency from clean renewable
sources and an ethic of personal conservation, this moves
us towards the changes we need."
The government has declared that it will reduce BC's greenhouse
gas emissions to 33% below today's level by 2020, or 10% below
the 1990 level. This is 20% above the European Union's 2020
goal for all 27-member states, but better than California's
goal, which is to match its 1990 level by 2020.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has recommended
that global greenhouse gas emissions be reduced to a small
fraction of the current rates, to minimize the harm of climate
change.
"This puts BC ahead of California in the boldness of
its plan, and makes BC's goal the best in North America, but
behind Europe's 27-member states. Technically, this gives
BC the 28th most progressive goal to tackle climate change
in the world," Dauncey continued, "but why quibble?
Finally, after years when all governments in BC have been
asleep at the switch, we have leadership. This is something
to celebrate."
"These commitments represent the first significant steps
by the BC Government to address what may be the most important
issue facing us today," said Tom Hackney, the BCSEA's
Policy Director
Dauncey supported the government's commitments on coal-fired
power. "Requiring 100% carbon sequestration on coal-fired
power is the right thing to do," said Dauncey. "If
coal plants can't contain all their greenhouse gas emissions,
they should not be built. BC has plenty of greenhouse gas-neutral
energy resources without coal."
The European Union has also stated that if China and India
join the global commitment to reduce emissions, they will
increase their goal to 30% below the 1990 level by 2020.
BC's commitment to establish an interim goal for 2012 will
allow a comparison with the Kyoto goal (6% below 1990 by 2012),
but it seems unlikely that BC will meet this target.
The BCSEA also welcomed other key aspects of the speech.
Carbon Sequestration: One new commitment is that "effective
immediately, BC will become the first jurisdiction in North
America, if not the world, to require 100% carbon sequestration
for any coal-fired power project."
"This will cause BC's two planned coal-fired power projects
in Princeton and Tumbler Ridge to reconsider their projects
or pack their bags and leave town," Dauncey said. "They
may not go without noise, fuss and legal challenges, but they
will not be able to meet their contracted price under this
new condition.
A report issued by the US Department of Energy in January
2007 stated that CO2 sequestration was "years away",
"because "sequestration technology is not sufficiently
mature to be implemented at production scale."
Carbon Neutrality & Clean Energy Fund: The BCSEA
also welcomes many other initiatives that were announced as
part of the plan, including the establishment of a Climate
Action Team to move the B.C. government towards carbon neutrality
by 2010, and the creation of a $25 million Innovative Clean
Energy Fund to assist with the development of clean, alternative
energy solutions.
"The $89 million that has been committed for hydrogen
fuelling stations and a hydrogen highway from Whistler to
Vancouver, Surrey and Victoria, on the other hand, is a waste
of money," Dauncey said. "Hydrogen is the wrong
way to go. The future of transportation in BC will be electric,
using plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The $89 million would
deliver far more if it was added to the Innovative Clean Energy
Fund."
Overall, the BCSEA gives the new commitments a 75% score.
"The big piece that is lacking is a commitment to stop
the Gateway project," Dauncey said. "With its major
new building program for roads and bridges, it will encourage
more traffic and produce more emissions."
The Throne Speech's statement that it "will reduce congestion,
improve traffic flow and reduce emissions from idling"
may be true for the first year, Dauncey said, "but after
that it will attract more traffic and generate more greenhouse
gas emissions."
If the government were to transfer the $89 million for hydrogen
vehicles to a planned expansion for cycling, transit, LRT,
and transport demand management, this would produce a thousand
fold greater fall in greenhouse gas emissions than having
20 hydrogen buses on the road.
Other commitments: The BCSEA also welcomes the commitment
to develop a new Green Building Code for BC, the commitment
to introduce climate change education into BC's schools, the
new Green Cities Project, and the announced incentives for
homeretrofits, energy audits and smart metering.
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The BC Sustainable Energy Association is a non-profit association
of citizens, professionals and practitioners, committed to
promoting the understanding, development, and adoption of
sustainable energy and energy conservation and efficiency
in British Columbia. www.bcsea.org
Contacts:
Guy Dauncey 250-881-1304
Tom Hackney 250-381-4463
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