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After months of lobbying, the BC government has got the message and appears to be taking real action in on climate change. Over the past months I added my energy to the momentum initiated by Voters Taking Action on Climate Change and others, encouraging the BC government to include a carbon tax in their next budget.

It looks like they have developed the political will after receiving a flood of letters in support of a carbon tax. The full story is available The Province.

I’m a member of Voters Taking Action on Climate Change (VTACC), a local citizens group lobbying the BC government to take action on climate change. The organization has successfully lobbied to stop the coal plants and is now campaigning for a carbon tax. In a recent budget consultation process, the government received an unexpected call for action to create a carbon tax. Here are the details:

The province’s Finance Minister, Carol Taylor, has asked her staff to report to her on the topic of a carbon tax by the end of this month, and she will likely decide before Christmas whether or not to proceed with a tax in the 2008 provincial budget. She has already indicated in front of the media that the option of a carbon tax is on the table. It is clear that Ms. Taylor has floated the idea to gauge public response, and she needs to know that there is broad public support if she is to move forward. There is no doubt that those opposed are urging her to avoid introducing a tax, or to bring forward a measure with no real substance as a nod to public concern. Please take the time today to send a message to Minister Taylor telling her that you want our province to take a leadership role on this issue. If you are on Facebook, you can join our BC Needs a Carbon Tax! group.

In both links above you’ll find all you need to know to quickly send off your message — contact information, key points to make in your letter, a sample letter for inspiration, and background information if you want to learn more.

Together, our actions are moving the carbon tax initiative forward — during its recent public consultations the finance committee received an unprecedented 500 submissions in support of a carbon tax, many of them from you. You can read the committee’s response to this input here. In a short time, citizen input in this province has shifted a tax on carbon emissions from a political non-starter to a clear possibility, and everyone who took the time to write to the committee should be congratulated. However, we’re not done yet.

Our time is short, and we are at a pivotal point in this process — please take a moment now to help deliver an important Christmas present for BC, the planet and our children’s future.

Andrea, David, Kevin, and Tom for the VTACC collective.

P.S. — We hope to see many of you at the Wired Monk next Friday night. While enjoying the music, company and holiday cheer we aim to gather 100 letters in support of the carbon tax to send in to Minister Taylor.

Resources

• Carbon Tax article in The Globe and Mail

The provincial government recently elicited feedback from the citizens of British Columbia as part of a budgetary consultation process, specifically regarding taxes and climate change. My feedback was published in their report on at the bottom of page 27. The government is listening!

Governments generally view introducing a carbon tax as political suicide. I ask any politicians reading this, what do you value more, your own narrow self-interest or a sustainable, abundant and healthy future for generations to come? The choice is clear in my mind. I don’t know of an alternative fiscal instrument with the ability to touch every person, organization and industry in a way that will motivate change on the scale that is necessary to mitigate climate change. The majority of society will not go out of their way or adjust their lifestyle unless there is a financial stick on their behind or a carrot in front of them. It’s the where the majority of society is at in our collective evolution so let us accept that and get on with legislating a carbon tax.

A carbon tax could be designed to be relatively revenue neutral. It could be designed to reduce our collective income tax while making it increasingly expensive for those who continue to engage in carbon intensive activities. Cap and trade is our government’s other option which is a little easier sell in the political arena, thanks in part to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s pushing it up the West Coast. A Cap and Trade System is also a must have but is more geared to the big player’s like coal plants and the tar sands. It won’t be visible to the masses and it won’t put power in the people’s hands to make choices that are good for the environment and good for their bottom line.

Please take the time to learn the pros and cons of these powerful legislative tools and urge your local governments to take implement them before their term ends.

We all pay fees to use municipal dumps and it should be no different when dumping greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. We must shift our linear systems of production into cyclic processes where nothing toxic accumulates in the biosphere, be it solid, liquid or gas. This is basic common sense and the minimum bottom line that we have to reach. No one wants garbage accumulating in their basement or backyard so lets stop creating it.

A revenue neutral, phased in carbon tax would give individuals and industry a clear fore-knowledge of future costs of business-as-usual. This tax strategy would create an incentive for everyone to adjust their consumption of energy over time. Start gradually and communicate the shift so all are aware of the timetable. Make it rapid enough to achieve a real impact in the short-term and foster a sense of urgency but not so fast that business is crippled. Such a tax will send a strong message to industry that the era of government looking the other way on environmental issues is over. It will create a climate of innovation and give consumers greater choice of options when looking for green upgrades.

Write your MP, premier, environment minister and prime minister and let them know that you are ready to see a carbon tax phased in over the next 10 - 20 years as one step toward a zero-waste society.

References

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_tax
• http://www.carbontax.org/