British Columbia and pollution pricing

Protecting the environment and growing the economy go together. In 2016, the federal government worked with provinces, territories, and with input from Indigenous Peoples on Canada’s first comprehensive climate action plan, which includes a stringent, fair, and efficient price on carbon pollution.

As part of Canada’s plan, provinces and territories had the flexibility to maintain or develop a carbon pollution pricing system that works for their circumstances, provided it meets the federal standard.

British Columbia has been a leader in pricing carbon pollution in Canada. British Columbia’s pollution pricing system has been in place since 2008, and it meets the federal benchmark stringency requirements.

Please contact the Province of British Columbia for additional details and information on its pollution pricing system and program.

Canada’s clean growth investments in British Columbia

The federal government’s Low Carbon Economy Fund is reducing emissions and creating opportunities for British Columbians by providing more than $160 million to support projects that;

  • Increase energy efficiency in homes and businesses, making life more affordable for families and helping businesses cut down on costs.
  • Build up composting infrastructure for communities and farmers to let organics decompose naturally and keep unnecessary waste out of landfills.
  • Plant trees to increase British Columbia’s forests and help reduce emissions.

Since 2016, the Government of Canada has allocated over $3.1 billion for investments in public-transit projects throughout British Columbia, including additional trains for Vancouver’s Canada Line, which brings residents and visitors from the airport to downtown Vancouver. This is one way we’re working to make sure that public transit is available for all and that people can get where they need to go, quickly and safely, while reducing pollution. It’s part of the Government’s Investing in Canada Plan.

The Government has allocated over $1.1 billion for investments in Green Infrastructure in British Columbia for projects that reduce emissions, build resilience to the impacts of climate change, or provide additional environmental benefits such as clean air and clean water. The governments of British Columbia and Canada are working together to fund priority projects that will help reduce pollution and grow the economy.

Investing in new technologies is also critical to Canada’s economic and environmental plan. Natural Resources Canada has provided $1.5 million, through clean-technology research, development, and demonstration programs, to Carbon Engineering’s plant, in Squamish, to capture carbon dioxide from the air so that it can create new low-carbon fuels for cars, trucks, and planes.

The federal government is making direct investments to support the development and deployment of clean technologies. For example, through Sustainable Development Technology Canada, $12 million was provided to support the development of D-Wave Systems Inc.’s energy-efficient quantum computers.

Canada is working to ensure Canadians are prepared for the impacts of climate change, including through investments like the $1.25 million, over five years, in the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium. This climate expert organization in British Columbia works with the Government of Canada’s Canadian Centre for Climate Services to provide climate services and information on current and future climate-change conditions. Other federal investments made to build British Columbia’s resilience to climate impacts include programs focused on educating and raising awareness, modelling sea-level rise for coastal First Nation communities, and assessing climate risk.

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