BC Budget 2015: Missed opportunity for climate change action

Hi! This is my first blog post and I thought that a photo of a forest ecologist in his element would be enlightening.

Global warming and the other ecological impacts of climate change threaten our health—our very survival. As the impacts of climate change unfold, society will face increasing economic costs.

Even the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy,  which some have criticized as being unduly influenced by the Conservative government, estimates these costs, which include coastal flooding, impacts to timber supplies, and increased health care expenses to be $5 billion by 2020 and to rise to $21-$43 billion by 2050. To avoid these onerous financial burdens, BC’s budget should have provided support for:

• Implementing climate change curricula at all levels of public education,
• Modifying natural and urban ecosystems to better adapt to impacts of climate change, and
• Subsidizing the shift from fossil fuel-based energy to renewable energy sources.

These changes would bring increased employment and wealth creation across the province.

These changes are a matter of survival.

Topics: Environment, resources & sustainability, Provincial budget & finance