WHEREAS environmental sustainability issues vary between urban and ruralnorthern and southern communities due to such factors as availability of public transportation, infrastructure, geographical distances, population densities, and access to alternative energy sources; AND WHEREAS many initiatives put forth by the federal and provincial governments in the areas of energy conservation and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions may be effective in southernurban areas and yet counterproductive in ruralnorthern areas due to the different nature of the two environments: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities request that both the federal and provincial governments ensure that initiatives designed to provide consumer incentive for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting energy conservation not be applied universally, but rather be developed with the recognition that incentives appropriate in urban areas may not be as effective in rural areas.
MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT The provincial government will implement a wide range of actions to achieve its greenhouse gas GHG reduction target of 33 below 2007 levels by 2020. Options under development include incentives. As indicated in the 2007 Throne Speech, Government will consider tax measures that encourage environmentally responsible choices and lower carbon consumption. Taxes are not generally differentiated regionally. However, regional differences may need to be considered in future when identifying possible tax incentives related to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Even so, research and experience in other jurisdictions suggest that incentives alone are unlikely to get us to our GHG reduction goal. A wide range of other approaches, listed in the B.C. Governments 2007 Throne Speech and 2007 Energy Plan are also under development. These include GHG standards for tailpipe emissions, regulations requiring the capture of landfill methane and measures to regulate industrial GHG emissions, are also under development.