Editor,
There’s no question that affordability is a big issue for many British Columbians.
Whether it’s BC Hydro bills or ICBC rates, MSP premiums or housing costs, families are struggling to make ends meet.
The provincial government’s focus on affordability in Budget 2018 makes a lot of sense.
But a focus on shorter term affordability means that longer term affordability challenges take a backseat.
That’s a problem because the costs of climate change are just beginning to ramp up. We are paying the price of past inaction; we cannot afford the cost of too little action today.
Last summer’s unprecedented wildfire season gives us a glimpse into the future. The cost to taxpayers now totals $870 million.
The budget allocates $72 million to increase wildfire resiliency and recovery work, but that falls far short of the $3.5 billion that UBC forest ecology professor Lori Daniels estimates it will cost to implement the protections we need.
The costs to ranching, tourism and sport fishing - to name but a few - will only rise as climate impacts intensify.
Sierra Club BC applauds many of the measures in Budget 2018 that address wildfire and other climate impacts, groundwater protection, transitioning B.C.’s economy away from fossil fuels and improving land-use planning.
But these initiatives are not nearly enough. We must invest more to protect ourselves from the rapidly intensifying impacts of climate change.
Tim Pearson
Sierra Club BC