Published in Vernon Morning Star (August 21, 2018)
An electric utility truck in Errington, B.C. Photo: Province of B.C.
Re: What the smoke says to us all (Letters, Aug. 20, 2018)
The B.C. government has promised to deliver this fall a climate solutions and clean growth strategy. A strong plan must lower carbon pollution and incentivize clean innovation in the building, transportation, and industrial sectors.
Eliminating carbon pollution from existing homes and buildings should be B.C.’s next mega-project. To achieve this, B.C. needs to upgrade 30,000 houses, 17,000 apartments, and 3 million square metres of commercial space every year for the next two decades. We also need a strategy to reduce carbon pollution from freight, which is eclipsing any gains we’re making on passenger-vehicle emissions.
The government has been very supportive of the development of a liquefied natural gas export industry in B.C. Yet the natural gas sector is already B.C.’s biggest source of industrial carbon pollution and has a methane leak problem. B.C. can look to several U.S. states for examples of best practices that essentially eliminate venting from production and transportation.
A climate strategy that accelerates the low-carbon energy transition, cuts carbon pollution, and delivers economic growth would be a welcome model for the rest of Canada and a legacy for future generations.
Karen Tam Wu
B.C. managing director, Pembina Institute
The Vernon Morning Star published this letter to the editor on August 21, 2018.
Karen Tam Wu was the regional director of B.C. at the Pembina Institute until 2022.
