When it came down to meeting the goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, B.C. and the majority of the country came up short.
A new national audit, conducted by federal environment commissioner Julie Gelfand and auditors general in nine provinces, showed seven out of 12 provinces and territories did not have an overall target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
Even though B.C. did set some benchmarks, the report found the province is not on track to meet them anytime soon.
Auditor General of B.C. Carol Bellringer said she was surprised with the small amount of work the province has done to reach the goal.
Watch: Elizabeth May says Canada ‘behind’ on climate change targets
Federal Commissioner of the Environment Julie Gelfand said she spoke to 33 municipalities around B.C. to discuss what needs to be done in their communities.
“I was surprised at how few departments had actually done a complete risk assessment,” Gelfand said. “We looked at 19 federal departments and found that only five had done a complete risk assessment.”
The goal is for Canada to reach 30 per cent fewer emissions than 2005 levels.
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were the only two provinces on track to meet their 2020 targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The success in the two provinces was attributed to an increasing use of renewable energy as well as the shut down of two mills in 2012 and an increase in oil prices which led to less demand for fossil fuel.
- With files from the Canadian Press
Trending
-
Superyacht sinking: Manslaughter charges considered as last body found1932 Read
-
‘Dangerous precedent’: Union reacts to board ordering rail employees back to work1453 Read
-
Taliban bans women’s voices, bare faces from public in new restrictive laws1222 Read
-
Stranded Boeing astronauts to return in 2025 on competitor SpaceX: NASA453 Read
-
Liberals face storm clouds as cabinet meets in Halifax412 Read
-
Concern, frustration grows as CPKC, CN rail labour dispute continues373 Read
You are viewing an Accelerated Mobile Webpage.
View Original Article