The end of 2025 will mark a decade since the Paris Agreement on climate change was negotiated. This review of the CleanBC plan is occurring in a different world. Even as the impacts of climate change are imposing widespread economic costs, the urgency of climate action has fallen by the wayside. President Trump’s trade war has reset Canada’s priorities and boosted the appeal of expanding Canadian exports to other markets than the United States.

The completion of the massive LNG Canada project in Kitimat is particularly timely in this regard, with its first shipment leaving B.C. for Asia at the end of June. Other liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects are in the works and more are being contemplated. And in recent years, B.C.’s most valuable export commodity has been coal. Taken together, this represents a dangerous doubling down on fossil fuels.

If B.C. remains committed to pursuing new LNG facilities and more fracked gas production, conversations about improving CleanBC would seem of little consequence. 

However, Donald Trump will not be U.S. president forever, and global demand for fossil fuels is poised to decline substantially over the coming decades amid climate concerns and the increasingly favourable economics of renewables. 

Even in the domestic economy, fossil fuels have held their own. In 2022, the amount of gasoline sold in B.C. was not much different than in 2007, the year B.C. first legislated greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reduction targets. Diesel sales have grown in recent years, reflecting booming freight transportation, and hit a record high in 2022. B.C.’s natural gas consumption was about the same in 2023 as in 2007. After a period of decline after 2007, gas consumption in homes, commercial buildings and industry has grown in recent years.

To be fair, B.C.’s population and economy have also grown. This means most of the new growth has been accommodated by cleaner vehicles and fuels. However, the conclusion is inescapable: the wide range of climate policies introduced in B.C. have failed at their primary objective: to shrink the province’s fossil fuel consumption.

The remainder of this submission makes 10 recommendations for continuing the push to put B.C. on a path towards deep emission reductions. In spite of LNG development, B.C. can continue to make systemic changes in domestic transportation, buildings and industry, while using decarbonization to anchor new green industrial policies.

1.  Create a provincial adaptation fund

B.C. must increasingly adapt to a warmer world. In the 2020s, nowhere is safe—your town could be flooded or destroyed by fire in a matter of hours, a heat wave could kill your loved ones. In the aftermath of the 2021 extreme weather events, for which we estimated economic costs between $10.6 and $17.1 billion, the B.C. budget announced new planning efforts for adaptation, emphasizing prevention and protection. 

However, the allocation of substantial fiscal resources for infrastructure still needs to come, from upgrading dikes to wildfire control to ensuring cooling systems are widespread. A 2020 report from the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) estimated that “average annual investment in municipal infrastructure and local adaptation measures of $5.3 billion is needed to adapt to climate change.” Based on B.C.’s population share, the province should be spending about $700 million per year to upgrade municipal infrastructure.

The fiscal implications are stark but do-able. They include many billions of dollars in upgrades to infrastructure so that they can better handle tomorrow’s extreme weather events, and better systems to minimize adverse impacts during disasters and accelerate rebuilding in the aftermath. The Canadian Climate Institute reports that: “For every $1 spent on adaptation measures today, $13-$15 will be returned in years ahead in direct and indirect benefits.”

2. Invest in B.C.-wide public transit

Public transit must play a much bigger role in reducing congestion and improving goods movement, in addition to GHG reductions. Our Connecting B.C. report outlined a 10-year investment strategy towards a seamless, coordinated and B.C.-wide public transit experience, which aims to:

  • Connect B.C. communities everywhere through a new provincewide express bus service.
  • Double the number of buses in B.C. Transit local services within five years and triple it within 10.
  • Expand HandyDART service province-wide, with an upgraded electric fleet, and stop contracting with private companies for services.
  • Develop new regional rail connections across the South Coast and Vancouver Island along historic rail corridors.
  • Add new passenger ferry options between Vancouver, the Gulf Islands, Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island.
  • Accelerate TransLink’s 10-year Access for Everyone plan for Metro Vancouver, and begin implementing next-level rapid transit options across the region.
  • Expand existing free transit programs to youth aged 13 to 18, and people receiving social assistance.

Over 10 years, this is a $20 billion transit capital plan, along with increased operating support to transit—from about $350 million currently to $1.5 billion per year at the end of year 10. In many ways, we are already spending this money but in ways that contribute to congestion and GHG emissions. 

3. Enhance subsidies for electric bikes and scooters, and local charging infrastructure

Perhaps the most visible CleanBC program has been subsidies for low- and zero-emission vehicles. While such incentives made sense several years ago, a continuation of broad-based subsidies would be extremely costly amid growing electric/hybrid sales as a share of the total. Instead, the zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) mandate should continue to drive change in the market place, with some limited subsidies for low-income households.

While there are many new ZEVs on the road, the availability of ZEV charging infrastructure remains inadequate. Drivers of low-emission vehicles routinely find public charging stations backed up, and countless electric cords run across sidewalks from homes to vehicles parked on the street. Local street-level charging is much needed, along with subsidies to allow more homes to have easy access to charging. Upgrades to multi-unit buildings have also been slow because they require deeper and more costly retrofits to garages to support ZEVs.

In May 2023, an incentive program aimed at electric bikes was announced by the B.C. government, and was so popular that it was fully subscribed almost instantly. And yet, in spite of the impressive demand for such game-changing mobility, no more funding has been added. There would appear to be large gains from a broader subsidy program for electric bikes and complementary initiatives like bike and scooter sharing networks.  

4. Upgrade older, multi-unit buildings

Getting emissions down in existing buildings will require substantial investments to improve energy efficiency of buildings and fuel switching off gas to electricity. Multi-unit buildings are challenging and need more extensive and expensive upgrades, and have generally been omitted in retrofit programs, including a lack of capacity to do the energy audits needed to qualify for existing programs. An additional consideration is preserving older, more affordable rental stock through reinvestments, which can also reduce operating costs for individual units and the entire building.

Almost half of B.C. households are powered by electricity but most of this is in the form of older, inefficient electric baseboards. Transitioning to heat pumps is advantageous because it switches homes off fossil fuels and, for those already using electricity, it improves energy efficiency and lowers the cost of heating. In both cases, it also adds summer cooling providing resilience against extreme heat events, such as the 2021 heat dome that killed over 600 people in B.C.

The B.C. government has had some success with heat pump subsidies, and recently expanded its subsidy program for heat pumps, with help from the federal government ($150 and $100 million respectively). Scaling up existing successes for heat pumps, with a focus on multi-unit buildings as well as commercial buildings—like shops and office towers—is a logical next step. Amounts, thus far, have been quite small, with the B.C. government planning only 8,300 heat pump rebates over the next two years. Added to almost 28,000 rebates so far, this is progress but still a drop in the bucket of B.C.’s 2.5 million dwellings.

5. Develop more clean energy in partnership with First Nations

B.C. Hydro’s Clean Power Call in 2024, featuring substantial First Nations partnerships, yielded 10 projects, at an estimated cost of $74 per MWh, for a total annual generation of 4,830 GWh (similar production as the Site C dam but at much lower cost). Importantly, these new projects will occur on First Nations lands and must have a minimum 25 per cent stake from local First Nations.

A new 2025 Clean Power Call is underway and holds more promise to develop clean energy and drive reconciliation. New transmission lines to connect these projects to the grid include the North Coast Transmission line, a $3 billion project upgrading the backbone line capacity from Prince George to Terrace.

Unfortunately, the primary impetus for these calls is to power LNG plants, and this is competing with demand for clean power to decarbonize buildings, transportation and other industry. As our recent report shows, this push will increase electricity and gas costs to British Columbians. An additional issue is that recent legislation enables the B.C. cabinet to override environmental approvals and other public processes for these projects.

6. Implement a provincial zero-waste plan

While CleanBC has rhetorically pointed to developing a “circular economy” strategy, little has come from these early enquiries. Our Zero Waste Agenda for BC places much greater emphasis on upstream, proactive solutions—rethinking systems, aggressive materials reduction, re-design, and re-use before recycling and composting. This area has high potential for innovation and the development of green jobs.

Moving beyond conventional recycling to get serious about well-designed conservation and material management requires policies that can simultaneously support GHG emission reductions, as well as local economic development. This includes: pressing for dramatic reductions in waste production, including banning single-use packaging and embracing reusable packaging and containers; policies in support of repair and maintenance to give much longer lifespans to electronics and appliances, and; more system-wide planning and data collection in the public domain to shine a light on where materials are flowing after consumption. 

In addition to tougher regulations to ensure more coordinated and effective materials management (recycling and compost collection), B.C. would benefit from a new Crown corporation to fill in gaps in the system and serve as a coordinator and market maker. B.C. could also push for stronger public procurement and minimum recycled content requirements that generate local demand for recycled materials. Phasing out incineration as an option for waste materials and closing other loopholes for waste disposal are also needed. 

7. Reform industrial carbon pricing

In April 2024, large industrial emitters transitioned to a new industrial carbon pricing system. The resulting output-based pricing system (or OBPS) is specific to B.C. (there is also a parallel federal system) and was not cut in April when the B.C. carbon tax was eliminated. 

The OBPS exempts a portion of emissions from carbon tax due to competitiveness concerns, and the exempted portion shrinks each year. Generous use of alternative payments through offsets and credits is also allowed. For example, in the critical sector of oil and gas, some 65 per cent of emissions were exempted, and for the remaining 35 per cent subject to carbon tax, half of the amount owing could have been derived from the use of credits and/or offsets. For cement and aluminum, 95 per cent of emissions are exempted under the OBPS.

The OBPS should be reformed to more rapidly reduce the share of emissions exempted from taxation (the tightening rate) and to quickly reduce the ability to use credits/offsets. While the current practice is to return all revenues back to industry, this system should be revenue positive, providing revenues to support other complementary climate action.

8. Bring back the Climate Action Tax Credit

The end of the “consumer carbon tax” in April 2025 also cancelled the Climate Action Tax Credit (CATC), initially implemented in 2008. The CATC has been increased in line with the carbon tax and served to reduce income inequality in B.C. At the time of its elimination, the CATC transferred a maximum of $504 per adult, $252 for a spouse or common-law partner and $126 per child. And in 2024/25, just over $1 billion was transferred to low- to middle-income households via the CATC. 

The CATC is a recognition that low- to middle-income households are more adversely affected by climate change and most climate policies. The CATC was also used as a platform to provide additional income support during COVID-19 pandemic. It is an effective and efficient measure that reduces poverty and improves affordability. 

9. Implement independent accountability systems 

B.C.’s practice of setting targets for GHG emissions and subsequently failing to meet them demonstrates an embarrassing failure of public policy. The 2018 CleanBC target was for a 40 per cent reduction in GHG emissions below 2007 levels by 2030. B.C. has also set a 2025 interim target, 2030 sectoral targets for buildings, transportation and industry, and longer-term emission targets in 2040 (60 per cent below 2007) and 2050 (80 per cent reduction, with a promise to be net-zero). None of these targets will be met. 

As recently as December 2023, the B.C. government claimed: “Based on the longer-term emissions modelling, if all CleanBC policies and programs planned today are fully implemented, B.C. could achieve 96% of the 2030 target.” This claim was always suspect, and in April 2025, new Energy and Climate Solutions Minister Adrian Dix admitted that “we are not on track to meet our near-term 2030 goals.” 

According to Minister Dix, B.C. will now only reduce emissions by 20 per cent by 2030, but even the lowered target is highly questionable in light of current developments and trends, in particular new LNG facilities.

In addition, it is not a straightforward exercise to evaluate CleanBC program spending. Since December 2020, the B.C. government has published “accountability reports” but these suffer from inconsistent reporting from year to year, and do not provide detailed breakdowns for specific programs. The role of federal transfers is also unclear, with neither B.C. budgets nor accountability reports specifying federal dollars received for public transit, low-carbon economy and green infrastructure. 

To have public credibility, accountability reports need to be produced by a third party, independent observer or the auditor general, not produced by the same government officials overseeing CleanBC. 

10. Listen to the public, not fossil fuel lobbyists

Climate policy has increasingly become a complex arena of expert discourse, one that is heavily dominated by fossil fuel interests. Research by the Corporate Mapping Project, a CCPA partnership with the University of Victoria, showed the incredible efforts made by fossil fuel lobbyists to influence federal and provincial governments. 

Strong climate policy must be anchored in broad-based public support. To this end, citizens’ assemblies could be deployed province-wide as an exercise in public engagement to help shape good climate policy, build consensus for solutions, and redefine our understanding of “the good life.” Of particular importance is the broad group in the middle who are concerned about climate change, but not already engaged in environmental issues or organizations. In many cases, these are folks who may feel disempowered by the politics and complexity of climate policy, but would benefit from a chance to work with others to learn, deliberate and become more actively engaged.