B.C. promotes climate action as environmentalists say root causes of pollution ignored

As four cabinet ministers touted B.C.’s commitment to tackling both climate change and climate emergencies Thursday, critics were slamming the province for not doing enough to address the root causes of warming temperatures.

Emergency Management Minister Mike Farnworth, Finance Minister Selina Robinson, Forestry Minister Katrine Conroy and Environment Minister George Heyman appeared together at a news conference to highlight some of the climate-related measures promised in Tuesday’s budget.

"It is not enough to react, we need to be able to predict, we need to be able to prepare, and we need to be able to invest," Heyman said.

The budget promised $2.1 billion over three years for climate disaster prevention, recovery and rebuilding, prompted by last year’s devastating floods and wildfire season.

Of that funding, more than $1 billion has been earmarked to support those directly impacted by the disasters. Nearly half a billion is to clean and build up the dike system.

The B.C. Wildfire Service will also be boosted with funding for year-round staffing, allowing for a greater focus on prevention and mitigation work.

Nearly $100 million is being spent to help the province better prepare for climate change impacts.

Farnworth said some of the money would be used for flood mapping, to help communities decide if they want to rebuild in flood-prone areas.

Environmentalists applauded the funding but argue most of the focus is on recovery, not slowing the planet from warming.

Torrance Coste, national campaign director for the Wilderness Committee explained it this way to CTV News: "If you're in a boat that's leaking, you need to bail out the water with a bucket but you also have to do something about the leak."

B.C. set aside $310 million to support decarbonisation efforts, but several environmental groups said it's unclear how the oil and gas industry will manage to reduce emissions.

"Every dollar that we spend responding to climate change or working to mitigate the impacts of climate change is offset by corresponding dollars spent to expand sectors like LNG," added Coste.

The Wilderness Committee says forest fires -- made worse by a warming planet -- are then releasing even more emissions, contributing to a repeating cycle.