The New Brunswick government released its 2014-2020 Climate Change Action Plan without much fuss on Monday June 2, 2014.
First, what’s great about this plan:
- We have a plan;
- It includes a good section on adapting to climate change, evaluating the risk of the climate changes we know are coming, including more extreme rain and snowstorms, coastal erosion and increased average temperature;
- It includes positive actions the government will take itself, in its own buildings, with its own fleet, and it’s purchasing policies; and,
- It re-commits to the goal it set for itself in 2007, that is, a ten per cent reduction from1990 levels by 2020. That means that in 2020, NB will be emitting 14.5 million tonnes of greenhouse pollution if we meet that target.
And here’s the not so great news:
- It re-commits to the goal it set for itself in 2007 — whilst scientists and policy makers from all over the world say what the atmosphere needs by 2020 is more in the frame of a 25 -40 per cent reduction. So ten per cent looks might skinny;
- There are no incentives for ordinary folks. While we might get a new programmable thermostat from NB Power (a good thing mind you) if the action items on energy efficiency are implemented, we see no other rewards for positive actions to reduce individual carbon footprints. Nothing, at least yet, to help bring down the price of solar panels for your roof, or replace your old car with a shiny new electric one, or help our towns and cities get a bus on your street more often;
- The plan is a bit light on benchmarks — how many tonnes of reductions will each of the proposed action items result in? How will we know we are on the right path, and doing enough of the right stuff, sharing our responsibility to reduce atmospheric pollution with no estimation of each action?
- It lacks ambition in acting on the economic opportunity in front of us. Yes, climate change is one of the most important environmental issues facing us today and in the future. We can get scared, or we can start wondering how to turn this crisis on its head and create new green jobs to help get those emissions down. Imagine a big fat hairy goal of retrofitting every building in NB by 2025. That type of target would grow jobs in housing, insulation, renewable energy, and retail. That would be nice.
On a final note – it’s difficult to square this plan of future actions with the government’s current practice off all out cheerleading of the development and export of fossil fuels (think shale gas and oil pipelines) and increased clear cutting in our Crown forests. Just saying.
Lois Corbett
Executive Director