While BC’s Climate Change Accountability Amendment Act has received high marks from environmental groups – one key aspect remains unknown.
The legislation calls for sector by sector targets – but right now according Pembina Institute Senior Analyst Brianne Riehl – those targets haven’t been set.
“It’s important to emphasize how critical those sectoral targets are and that’s something we’ve been asking for – for a long time and it’s something that will allow us and all British Columbians to keep stock of where our emissions are coming from and decisions that we’re making today,” she said. “For example, in industrial development.”
She says it’s also unclear at this point just what constitutes a sector.
“So we already have some data and some work that’s been done behind the scenes that I’m assuming the government will build on in order to determine those sectoral targets.”
Riehl says government has committed to having more than just industry voice decide what those targets should be.
“So we think this will be very different perspectives brought into that decision making,” Riehl added.
She adds there was a lot of data that went in to informing the “Clean BC” plan that will likely be used to determine emissions targets.