Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Chad Klassen

2021 FEDERAL ELECTION

DECISION 2021: Climate Change

Sep 14, 2021 | 1:06 PM

KAMLOOPS — In the second part of our federal election coverage, we look at climate change. After another devastating wildfire season, caused in large part by a series of heatwaves through the province and especially in the Interior, the climate may be top of mind for many voters. We look at what each party plans to accomplish to help reverse the effects of climate change.

The Green Party says the longer the Canada and the world waits to transition away from fossil fuels, the worse off we’ll be.

Green candidate for Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo Iain Currie says the Liberal government has not hit any climate targets set out in the Paris Agreement in 2015. The Green Party promises high-paying jobs in the green economy as the country transitions, but says it needs to happen now.

“We need to accept that fossil fuels are not going to be part of our future,” said Currie. “We need to transition as quickly as possible to renewable, sustainable forms of energy. That’s a difficult pill to swallow, but we need to swallow it.”

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A recent report from Environment Defense show the Justin Trudeau government spent $18 billion to oil and gas companies last year, while budget $10 billion for climate initiative over the next decade. However, the Liberal Party’s goal is still net-zero by 2050 while transitioning to a green economy.

“We’ve also been involved in the development and we’ve passed the Net-Zero Accountability Act, which requires Canada to meet our commitments to the international community and future generations by stipulating the requirement to develop a plan and to update it every five years to show exactly how the Government of Canada will meet the targets,” said Liberal candidate Jesse McCormick.

RAW VIDEO: Candidates comment on climate change.

Carbon pricing is a big part of the Liberal and the NDP’s climate plans. But unlike the Liberals, which don’t make industrial emitters pay until they exceed 80 per cent of average emission in their industry, the NDP wants to cap it at 70 per cent.

The New Democrats will stop subsidizing big oil companies and also appears to have a more concrete plan in the transition to a green economy.

“We create thousands of jobs in the clean, new economy, retrofitting every Canadian home, creating energy-efficient, affordable homes, electric vehicles, public infrastructure. This is doable and we have no alternative,” said NDP candidate for Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo Bill Sundhu. “We are absolutely committed to treating this like the crisis that it is, so we can have a safe environment.”

The Conservative Party has fought carbon pricing for years, but is slowly getting on board, although not to the level of the Liberals, NDP and Greens. The Conservatives say they won’t charge anymore than $50 a ton, compared to the $170 proposed by both the Liberals and NDP.

“Canada emits about two per cent of the world’s greenhouse gases, so the Conservative plan to lead by example, to put pressure on large emitters, so they in turn bring down their carbon footprint, so we can all get to 2050 with the targets in mind,” said Conservative candidate in Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo Frank Caputo.

The People’s Party of Canada does not believe in climate change caused by greenhouse gases. The party says green technology is “costly” and government has put too many regulations in place to block oil development.