Citing GLOBE Foundation research, business, academic and NGO
leaders urge B.C.'s new Premier not to weaken the province's
commitment to the Western Climate Initiative
GLOBE-Net, April 28, 2011 - Last week, over 150
business, academic and NGO leaders sent a letter to B.C. Premier
Christy Clark supporting the Provincial Government's leadership
role in the Western Climate Initiative (WCI).
The letter, prompted in part by news that the B.C. government
might be softening its position on carbon pricing, cap and trade
and its role in the WCI, urged the Premier to make the clean energy
economy a central part of the government's effort to create jobs
and help British Columbian families.
The letter cited research by the Globe Foundation that indicated
the clean energy economy contributed $15.3 billion to B.C.'s GDP
(10.2% of the total) and 166,000 jobs (7.2% of the total) in 2008.
Those numbers are significant today, and they could double in the
next decade.
The leaders argued that B.C. has built a strong foundation to
achieve higher gains and the leadership it has demonstrated in
spurring investment in clean energy has had a positive influence on
the Canadian, continental and global debate on how to build a clean
energy economy.
We can grow the market for
B.C.'s clean energy companies"By tipping the
economic scales in favour of clean energy, and helping our
neighbours do the same, B.C. can help open domestic and export
markets for the province's entrepreneurs," the letter states.
"Whether it's a wind farm being built in Dawson Creek, or
cutting-edge fuel cell engines and biomass gasification
technologies being sold to the world, those businesses bring
investment to B.C. and employ British Columbians" it notes.
Particular mention was made of B.C.'s carbon tax, the only one of
its kind in North America.
We can help families get ahead in a
future where energy is going to cost
moreBuilding on Premier Clark's stated goal to
help protect families, the business leader letter notes that as
global oil prices rise, developing a robust clean energy sector in
B.C. would help protect families by reducing their dependence on
fossil fuels, and giving them real alternatives such as better
public transit and neigbourhood heating systems.
The shift away from fossil fuels also benefits families by keeping
energy prices lower than in other jurisdictions, providing
long-term employment throughout the province, and building
healthier more vibrant communities.
The same message was delivered by other experts in the
field.
Former B.C. Deputy Minister Moura Quayle, now of UBC's Sauder
School of Business, and John Richards, from the School of Public
Policy at Simon Fraser University, wrote in a subsequent Vancouver
Sun article (April 26, 2011) that B.C. needs to take the green
economy to the next level.
"A green economy such as ours
does not appear overnight with the wave of a wand. It happens when
government enables the right market conditions through supportive
policies, then sticks with them." Moura Quayle and John
RichardsCiting B.C.'s pioneering carbon tax, they
note this policy has brought unexpected benefits to the people of
this province. Using figures from a recent column by economist Mark
Jaccard, they note the carbon tax has paid back to British
Columbians $200 million more than it has taken away.
Furthermore, B.C.'s carbon-pricing policy has helped one of the
largest clusters of clean-tech companies in the world to expand.
Many of these companies did not exist 10 years ago, they wrote, and
these are knowledge-based jobs that pay well above the provincial
average.
They too argue British Columbia's economic advantages have been
bolstered by the province's leadership in the Western Climate
Initiative on track to start early next year.
"Through our cooperation with California, Quebec, and others,
British Columbia is at the leading edge of the green economy in
North America," they state.
The GLOBE Foundation research upon which the letter to the Premier
is based is available here.
The letter to the Premier is available
here.