B.C. lags Ontario on environmental performance

Conference Board of Canada gives B.C. a C for environmental performance

B.C.’s provincial government may call itself a “leader in climate action by having a carbon tax,” but Ontario receives a higher grade (B). B.C. gets a C, along with Quebec and P.E.I., in a study on the provinces’ environmental performance released by the Conference Board of Canada to coincide with Earth Day. The conference board notes that “there is finally consensus that economic growth pursued at the expense of the environment and at the expense of scarce and finite physical resources is clearly not sustainable.”

To measure environmental performance, the study ranks Canada, its provinces and 15 peer countries based on nine indicators and calculates an overall environmental grade for each.

Because B.C., like Quebec, produces most of its electricity from hydro stations, it scores an A for low-emitting electricity production. It also gets an A for air-polluting sulphur oxides emissions but Bs for water withdrawals, waste generation and greenhouse gas emissions, and Cs for volatile organic compound emissions and wastewater treatment. The province does worst on air polluting nitrogen oxides emissions, particulate matter emissions (natural emissions from wildfires, etc.) and energy intensity, which all receive Ds.

Still, B.C. ranks higher than the country overall: Canada receives a D, ranking 14th among all 16 peer countries, ahead of only the U.S. and Australia.

Read elsewhere
Former B.C. attorney-general Geoff Plant argues that British Columbia has an enviable environmental record to celebrate on Earth Day, and that there needs to be a balance between environmental protection and resource development. (Globe and Mail)

Que Pasa is saving money while helping save the planet. Its tortilla-chip facility in Delta is the first Canadian facility to be certified zero waste, saving $56,000 a year as a result. (Vancouver Sun)