Canada West Foundation reports that BC leads in energy and climate change policy
News Release
VICTORIA – British Columbia is once again being singled out as a leader in climate change and energy policies, Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources 
Minister Richard Neufeld stated on September 10, 2008.
“We made a commitment to have a vision for clean energy and to put into play policies that would move us forward in that direction,” said Neufeld. “This report by the Canada West Foundation reinforces what we’ve been saying and doing for some time now.”
The report, entitled Canada’s Power Play, says that British Columbia has arguably the most aggressive climate change and energy policies in Canada, which is helping to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. It points out that B.C. is a pioneer on the policy front and could play an important leadership role within Canada when it comes to policy development.
The report is the culmination of a series of energy sector consultation roundtables held across western Canada in April 2008. Provinces that participated were British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The roundtables were held to take the pulse of western Canadian energy sector experts and stakeholders on the subject of energy policy in Canada.
Participants of the roundtables also noted that B.C. enjoys an advantage of public education and awareness, when it comes to climate change policies. A number of participants felt that B.C. has been effective at aligning policy with public expectations.
“The BC Energy Plan, released in 2007, focuses on the Province’s key natural strengths and competitive advantages of clean and renewable sources of energy,” Neufeld continued. “And this year we introduced a climate action plan which describes how we will build on the framework already established in 2007 and identify choices we can all make to reduce our carbon footprint.”
“British Columbia is committed to meeting its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 33 per cent below current levels by 2020 and 80 per cent below current levels by 2050.”
To Learn More:
To read the entire report, visit www.cwf.ca and/or click on Canada’s Power Play: The Case for a Canadian Energy Strategy for a Carbon-Constrained World, released in September 2008.
Posted January 2009