Victory! Bill C-48 and Bill C-69 are passed!
This month, Bill C-48 – the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act – and Bill C-69 – the Impact Assessment Act – both finally became law!
This month, Bill C-48 – the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act – and Bill C-69 – the Impact Assessment Act – both finally became law!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 18, 2019
Sierra Club BC released the following statement from Climate and Conservation Campaigner Mark Worthing in response to the federal government’s decision to approve the Trans Mountain pipeline and tankers project:
“Saying yes to the Trans Mountain pipeline and tankers project is saying yes to more record-breaking wildfire destruction, droughts, rising sea levels and acidifying oceans. We are in a climate emergency. We must act like we are. We say yes to keeping rivers wild and full of salmon for food and ecosystems. We say yes to clean water. We say yes to a truly sustainable economy.
“We say yes to honouring Indigenous governance. The federal government’s understanding of what represents genuine consultation and consent must change.
“Further legal challenges are inevitable. We will pull together to support those legal challenges as they emerge.
“The Trudeau government boxed itself into a corner when it panicked and purchased the pipeline. Taxpayers are now on the hook for $4.5 billion to buy it and an additional $7.4 billion for construction.
“It’s costing taxpayers more than $12 billion to have Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Brunswick reject even modest climate action. We are not on track to meet our Paris climate targets.
“We will not stop standing up for wild salmon and clean water by opposing the Trans Mountain pipeline and tankers project. We will not stop working to avert climate breakdown and ecological collapse, and the economic collapse that will follow. We will not stop fighting for a livable future for our young people.
“Expanding fossil fuel infrastructure is a violent act towards current and future generations. It has to stop. Now.”
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Media contact:
Mark Worthing
Climate and Conservation Campaigner
250-889-3575
mark@sierraclub.bc.ca
Sierra Club BC calls for immediate steps to reduce the danger of worsening droughts, floods and fire caused by forest destruction and climate breakdown
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 13, 2019
Sierra Club BC and forest expert Herb Hammond are calling on the B.C. government to declare a forest and climate emergency and take immediate action to protect and restore resilient forests in order to reduce the growing risk of unmanageable climate impacts for ecosystems and communities.
“We are in a climate emergency and it’s time the B.C. government acted like it. Defending our communities from floods and fires requires immediate action to reduce climate pollution and save intact forests,” said Jens Wieting, senior forest and climate campaigner with Sierra Club BC.
“Trees are essential for clean air and water, long term forestry jobs, storing carbon and protecting communities from floods and disasters,” said Wieting. “As the climate shifts into uncharted territory, only intact forests can buffer the impacts—not clearcuts, young forests and tree plantations. We need action today because in ten or twenty years we’ll need these resilient forests for survival.”
Destructive industrial logging is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the province, causing forests to shift from carbon sinks to carbon pollution sources as global heating continues. Sierra Club BC estimates that B.C.’s uncounted forest emissions from poor forest management and climate impacts are more than three times higher than officially reported provincial emissions.
“The climate emergency means we must increase protection of resilient forests like old-growth forests and intact natural forests across the province. In some parts of the forest landscape, cautious intervention like thinning to build resiliency to the climate disruption and controlled burns will be necessary. Clearcutting is never the right answer—we have to reduce our losses, not make them worse,” said forester and ecologist Herb Hammond.
Meteorologists warned at the end of May that Western Canada should be ready for a particularly hot and dry summer, after an abnormally dry spring in many regions.
Hundreds of jurisdictions in more than a dozen countries have already declared climate emergencies. Canada—and in particular B.C.—face growing risks and have a critical responsibility to declare a forest and climate emergency. No other country has more trees per person than Canada.
In October 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projected that without unprecedented action, by 2040 the world will heat by about 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times. As a consequence of warming of just one degree, water vapour in the atmosphere has already increased by seven per cent and changes in the jet stream have resulted in weather patterns becoming more stationary, causing longer and more extreme flooding and droughts.
These trends will only stop once the world economy has completely decarbonized, but can be significantly slowed by protecting intact natural forests, particularly old forests, that are large enough to moderate local climates and stave off the worst impacts of the climate disruption. B.C. communities are at increasing risk of climate impacts made worse by large-scale clearcutting of intact forests and destructive practices like slash burning that add to carbon emissions, all of which are causing cumulative damages in many Indigenous territories.
Moving away from destructive practices must be part of provincial climate action to increase the amount of carbon stored in forests. This will translate into more jobs and less ecosystem damage per cubic metre of wood. Solutions like increased protection and improved forest management must fully respect the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Sierra Club BC is calling for B.C. to declare a forest and climate emergency, recognizing the role that intact forests play in both helping slow climate change and helping defend the safety and security of B.C. communities. Two immediate first steps for the B.C. government are to:
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For more information:
Sierra Club BC photos of recent clearcuts on Vancouver Island: https://www.flickr.com/photos/94279740@N07/sets/72157698359993961
Sierra Club BC report Hidden, ignored and growing: B.C.’s forest carbon emissions:
https://sierraclub.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/SCBC-Forest-Emissions-Report-Jan-19.pdf
Dr. Jim Pojar report Forestry and Carbon in B.C.:
https://sierraclub.bc.ca/7-myths-about-forests-carbon-and-climate-change/
Media contacts:
Jens Wieting
Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner
Sierra Club BC
Cell: 604-354-5312
jens@sierraclub.bc.ca
Herb Hammond
Forester and Ecologist
(Interviews can be arranged through Sierra Club BC)
Registered charitable number: 11914 9797 RR0001
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