Victoria, Canada - British Columbia’s Climate Action Team has presented its recommendations for strategies and interim emissions targets for 2012 and 2016 to assist the Province achieve its emission reduction target of 33 per cent by 2020, Premier Gordon Campbell announced today.

"The Climate Action Team has developed economically viable interim targets and recommended comprehensive strategies that will bridge the gap to our 2020 goal," said Premier Campbell.  "I want to thank the members of the team for their invaluable expertise and their commitment to helping us set a plan that will reduce emissions in British Columbia and create a sustainable future for our children and grandchildren."

Independent modelling by M.K. Jaccard and Associates Inc. was used to estimate the emission reductions of some of the recommended policy options put forward by the Climate Action Team. Based on the same conservative assumptions used in the Climate Action Plan, the modelling suggests these policies could reduce emissions by a further eight million tonnes by 2020.  

In addition, the Climate Action Team has recommended the following interim targets for 2012 and 2016:

• By 2012, the growth in emissions must be reversed and emissions must begin to decline significantly, to between five and seven per cent below 2007 levels.
  
  
• By 2016, the decline in emissions needs to accelerate. Emissions should fall to between 15 and 18 per cent below 2007 levels.

"We believe that British Columbia has a tremendous opportunity to lead and succeed in the new low-carbon economy and environment of the future," said Cheryl Slusarchuk, chair of the Climate Action Team and president of the Premier’s Technology Council. "The team’s recommendations build on the strong actions government has already taken to address the challenge of climate change while developing clean technology and innovation in our province,"

The Climate Action Plan, released in June, outlines initiatives that will take British Columbia approximately 73 per cent of the way to the 2020 target. The Climate Action Team has put forward additional strategies in areas such as emissions pricing, transportation, buildings, agriculture, forestry, and energy, to fill the remaining gap. 

"As we committed when the Climate Action Team was announced last year, our next step is to seek comments from the public on the recommendations put forward by the team," said Environment Minister Barry Penner.  "I look forward hearing what British Columbians have to say, which will help us shape the final interim targets by the end of this year."

The team’s report is available online for public comment for at least 60 days until Monday, Oct. 6, 2008. As required by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act, the interim targets for 2012 and 2016 will be set into law, through regulation, by the end of this year.

A Summary of the team’s recommendations is available here.

To view the Climate Action Team report and for more information about the Climate Action Plan, please visit: http://www.livesmartbc.ca/

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For More Information: Government of British Columbia