Climate politics heating up in British Columbia

Climate change has become a hot button political issue in British Columbia with opposition parties launching election-style attacks on the New Democrat government’s clean climate policies.

B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad told a news conference at the legislature that the NDP’s climate policies are taxing people into poverty and they don’t do anything “to change the weather.”

Conservative Party of BC leader John Rustad says he does not deny climate change but that “this is not a crisis.” Rustad says the Conservatives will get rid of all climate taxes, and increase food production. #bcpoli pic.twitter.com/NvlWdYfDeC

— Richard Zussman (@richardzussman) November 22, 2023

Rustad “carbon dioxide is not pollution.” #bcpoli

— Richard Zussman (@richardzussman) November 22, 2023

He says the Conservatives, if elected next year, will eliminate the province’s carbon tax, roll back climate-friendly building codes and consider nuclear power as an energy option.

Rustad’s comments come a day after Opposition BC United Leader Kevin Falcon called the NDP’s CleanBC climate plan destructive and promised to replace it with common sense measures that fight climate change without hurting taxpayers.

Falcon says BC United will ramp up liquefied natural gas export plant production in B.C. in an effort to replace reliance on coal abroad and reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

CleanBC is the NDP government’s plan to lower harmful emissions by 40 per cent by 2030.