BC is not for sale- BC Premier Christy Clark’s focus on pipeline money misses the point

WWF joined forces today with allies to brief reporters on how Christy Clark’s focus on pipeline money misses the point when it comes to British Columbians’ concerns over the Enbridge Gateway pipeline. It’s not about the money- this is not the place for a pipeline. This message is gaining traction on the heels of yet another oil spill, last Friday in Wisconsin.

I was proud to share the podium with Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs; David Anderson, former BC Liberal Leader and former federal Minister of the Environment; Jennifer Rice, Councilor, City of Prince Rupert; and Josh Paterson, staff lawyer, West Coast Environmental Law Association.
At today’s packed press conference, all speakers agreed- the Northern Gateway project should be stopped.
I spoke about how we can’t put our salmon, whales and bears at risk. We can’t afford to risk the clean water and healthy oceans so vital for local economies. All pipelines are vulnerable to spills, which is exactly why it isn’t worth the risk of having one in the Great Bear. We’ll keep working to extend the landmark forest and land management agreement with a parallel ecosystem based plan for the Great Bear Sea, and to uphold protection for wild rivers, fish habitat and species at risk in the region.
BC’s five conditions for potential provincial support for the Northern Gateway project were unveiled last week, before the latest spill, including a demand for a fair share of the fiscal and economic benefits of proposed heavy oil projects that reflect the risk borne by the province. But instead of putting BC up for sale for the sake of a pipeline that British Columbians don’t want, the Premier should be promoting our leadership on energy and  our  comprehensive climate action plan BC is the only jurisdiction in Canada with a carbon tax, and it’s working: both greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption are down. We have unique greenhouse gas emission targets that are set out in law and require 33% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 The province’s most recent report on how well it’s working was issued a few weeks ago. It shows that B.C.’s greenhouse gas emissions dropped by 4.5 per cent overall between 2007 and 2010. And in 2010, B.C.’s public sector became the first jurisdiction in North America – maybe the world- to achieve carbon neutral operations.
In fact in an op-ed published in the New York Times on   July 4 2012 experts said that BC has the best climate policy in the world. Now that’s the kind of news I’d be happy to celebrate.