BC Speech From Throne..Green ..Green ..Green

By 250 News

VICTORIA - The fourth session of the 38th parliament was launched today

with a speech from the throne that lays out new measures to create safe,

secure communities, build excellence in education, further strengthen

the New Relationship with First Nations, and give British Columbians

options to become personally involved in combating climate change.

"Many members of this legislature will not be alive in 2050, but most

have or will have children and grandchildren who will be. It is for them

that today's decision makers must take action," said Premier Gordon

Campbell. "By living smarter, we can save energy, water, fuel

consumption, time and money. We can reduce waste and get better value

from our land, our limited natural resources and our tax dollars."

A healthy environment and educated populace are essential to healthy

human development and a globally competitive economy. A safe, humane

society is the object and outcome of an enlightened, prosperous and

caring community. The bedrock of each goal is a strong economy.  

Government outlines new LiveSmart BC strategy:

* LiveSmart BC will reward smart choices that will save energy, water,

fuel, time and money. 

* The new LiveSmart BC initiative will help to contain urban sprawl and

reward development that creates more affordable housing, new green

spaces and more people-friendly neighbourhoods.   

* Consumers will be given new tools to help conserve energy and save

money on their power bills, such as Power Smart meters that will be

installed in every home in British Columbia by 2012. That will give

families new information and control over their power consumption.

* New "inclining block" rate structures will also allow families to

choose and save by making Power Smart choices.

* These changes and the BC Energy Plan will be supported by a new

legislated direction for the BC Utilities Commission. 

* Green developments waiting for provincial environmental approvals will

be fast-tracked and given priority.  

* The new Green Building Code will be finalized and implemented to save

energy and water. 

* All new provincial public buildings will be constructed to LEED Gold

or equivalent standards. Existing buildings will be retrofitted to make

them more energy efficient, climate friendly and healthier for public

servants.

* Higher densities will be encouraged around new transit routes to help

make them more affordable and create affordable housing.

* Legislation will require local governments to incorporate greenhouse

gas reduction targets and supporting strategies in their Official

Community Plans and Regional Growth Strategies. 

* Legislation will be introduced this session to facilitate British

Columbia's participation in a regional "cap and trade" system that is

being developed under the Western Climate Initiative. The framework for

that system is scheduled for completion this year. 

* A new Citizens' Conservation Council will support B.C.'s mitigation

efforts with public education campaigns that will give citizens the

tools and information they need to make informed choices. 

* A new Youth Climate Leadership Alliance will be formed that will

comprise students and other young people from across B.C. It will

undertake paid government-sponsored field research, mitigation work,

afforestation projects and adaptation efforts. 

* A new Youth LiveSmart outreach campaign will encourage young British

Columbians to make carbon-smart lifestyle choices that are good for the

environment, their health, their pocketbooks and our planet.  

* The Scrap-It program will be expanded to get older vehicles with

higher emissions off the road.

* Other LiveSmart BC education and outreach initiatives will be launched

by the government and the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions.

Other initiatives to safeguard the environment and tackle climate change

include:

* The Province will pursue a goal of zero net deforestation, and work

with First Nations, industry and communities to put that goal into law

by 2010 and establish a viable strategy for realizing that vision by

2015. 

* A new Trees for Tomorrow program will launch a large, urban

afforestation initiative. Millions of trees will be planted in

backyards, schoolyards, hospital grounds, civic parks, campuses, parking

lots and other public spaces across B.C. 

* Major investments in tree nurseries will be made to assist this

initiative. 

* All forest land currently identified as not sufficiently restocked

will be replanted and no "NSR" backlogs will be allowed to develop in

ensuing years.

* The Forests for Tomorrow program will plant an additional 60 million

seedlings over the next four years.

* The discharge of landfill gas will be regulated to foster the capture

and conversion of emissions into clean energy.

* A new "Brownfields to Greenfields" redevelopment strategy will target

existing "dirty" sites for the creation of well-treed, green, liveable

communities. 

* Standards for low-carbon fuel content will be adopted to reduce the

carbon intensity of motor vehicle fuels by 10 per cent by 2020, and new

incentives will be created to encourage the purchase of fuel efficient

vehicles.

* The new BC Bioenergy Strategy will create new opportunities in clean

technology for rural communities, for independent power producers, and

for our forest and agriculture industries.

* New investments will be made in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles,

hydrogen-powered buses, clean retrofits of dirty diesel trucks and the

electrification of truck stops.

* The Innovative Clean Energy Fund will help create 100,000 solar roofs

in British Columbia and build on B.C.'s expertise in solar technology.

* A new Pacific Carbon Trust will foster economic growth from new

opportunities in carbon credit trading and carbon offsets. The Trust

will invest in made-in-B.C. offset projects that produce emissions

reductions that are permanent, measurable, verifiable, and additional,

and that are regulated by government. Projects in energy efficiency,

renewable energy, carbon capture and sequestration - including

incremental tree planting - will all be eligible.

* The Trust will manage the revenues generated from government's plan to

become carbon neutral by 2010. It will be open to offset purchases from

private citizens, companies and other governments alike. 

* The Province will expand British Columbia's hydrometric and other

climate-related networks to improve our ability to monitor, predict and

adapt to these conditions.

* The legislature will be asked to adopt new California-equivalent

vehicle tailpipe emission standards, in tandem with California and a

number of other states and provinces.

* Amendments to the Wildlife Act will build on the Mountain Caribou

Recovery Plan, the Vancouver Island Marmot Recovery Project and the

Kitasoo Spirit Bear Conservancy. 

* Tough new penalties will prevent and punish poaching and killing

endangered species. 

* Comprehensive air and water stewardship strategies will be released

this spring, as new steps are taken to combat global warming.

* This session, all members will be asked to build on the record of

environmental stewardship with new conservancies and parks envisioned in

approved land use plans.

* A climate action plan will be released shortly after the budget. It

will be annually updated and founded on personal responsibility, sound

science and economic reality.

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